Black Kisses
by Mehetabelo
Summary: Harry wakes nightly from a recurring dream, a dream that has him on edge and unable to think properly. Who is this woman who is bringing out feelings of great pleasure? Will his perception of the woman he hates most change? Harry-VariousCharacters [WiP]
1. Dreams

Disclaimer: Just about everyone has a disclaimer that says they don't want to be sued, or they don't own the story or any sort of copyright in anyway relating to the story and its characters. So, at instead of repeating someone else's statement, I will just say that you're an idiot if you don't get it already. Got it?

Summary: Harry wakes almost nightly from a recurring dream, a dream that has him on edge and unable to think properly. His connection with Voldemort has taken a turn for the worse and he suddenly finds himself doing things he'd never do. And who is this woman who is bringing out feelings of undeniable pleasure? Will his perception of the woman he hates most change?

The Challenge: Everyone knows about Harry's connection to Voldemort and how he can feel what Voldemort feels. What if he starts having visions of Voldemort doing the dirty deed with Bellatrix and it colors his perceptions of the Hottie Death Eater. What happens when they next meet?  
To add a further wrinkle to the story, what if Bella is beginning to see something in her Dark Lord, something that has never been there before, something she sees also in Harry's eyes...  
…something she could love…

Note: A response to a challenge issued by jon3776 of He asked me to write something on one of his challenges, and I decided on this one (finally). I don't plan on making it too long, just a novella, like Narcotic Effects was. If you like the idea and want more stories I want to see some reviews. I seriously have been sucking up every bit of life they can give me lately because I haven't been in all that great of a mood. Show some mercy and give me some happiness by clicking the little button that says review. I don't know how long this fic will be, it's unwritten, I'm just sort of writing it on the spur of the moment.

Black Kisses  
• Mehetabelo •

Chapter 01  
• Dreams •

Harry sat up, covered in a cold sweat. The dreams were back again and back with force.

Since the middle of his sixth year he had mastered the basics of occlumency and been able to keep Voldemort out of his head. He had slept at night and focused on teaching the DA and learning everything he could for his inevitable battle with Voldemort. The same battle which never seemed to come.

Voldemort was smart, even smarter than last time. He was quick and clean whenever he attacked, getting things done so fast that, by the time that Aurors showed up, his target had been looted and destroyed. People were afraid again, Diagon Alley was nearly deserted and Hogsmeade had become a town filled with refugees and under constant guard. No one was safe from the Death Eaters, not even Hogwarts had been untouched. Earlier in the year a Slytherin by the name of Daphne Greengrass had just disappeared without notice. Her parents, who were muggles, had been contacted and were currently in hiding.

The damned dreams only made things worse, and it was the fourth time this week. Harry wasn't sure how long it would be before the dreams would be permanently etched into his memory, which could very well be a bad thing.

Harry pulled himself out of bed, looking across the room to the four-poster Ron was in. He was quiet, which meant he'd either snuck in one of his girlfriends in the middle of the night and had a silencing spell up, or he was awake. Harry didn't even bother checking, he knew that if Ron was awake and he checked he'd never hear the end of the questions that would ensue.

Truthfully, he was pretty sure he hadn't screamed during this dream, it hadn't exactly been the sort of dream he would scream about. He had woken as Voldemort, with a woman on top of him doing things he had only been able to imagine up until the week before. It was not the same each night, it was always different, and it was not really a bad dream either. He was scared though, scared that he had enjoyed what was happening. There was something wrong about it, something wrong with being turned on in someone else's body, especially when it was Voldemort's.

Silently he slipped from the room, taking the steps carefully and making sure to avoid some of the objects that were scattered on the floor. He stood next to the door, listening to the soft snoring from the room and turning the doorknob ever so quietly. When it had turned all the way he pulled the door open and then slipped out, taking care to close it just as quietly as he'd opened it.

After making his way down the stairs he threw a few logs into the fire and poked it with a sticker so that the flames flickered higher. Then he pulled a chair closer and was about ready to sit in it when someone spoke. "What'cha doing?" she asked.

Harry swirled to look at her, eyes wide. He spotted someone curled up on the couch. He knew who it was, she'd been assigned to his protection and had been skulking around every corner he turned. It was more than irritating, it was infuriating. Part of it was because she tried to be sneaky about it, but it wasn't that hard to identify the stumbling Auror. She was actually on the floor half the time he passed by. The majority of the problem was that Fudge was now taking turns in the control-Harry's-life game, something that Harry was pretty sure he wasn't even playing any more.

"Leave me alone Tonks," Harry snapped, seeing the playful look wither like a dying flower.

Part of him wanted to apologize, but something inside him didn't feel like apologizing, something that had been affected by the scene he'd just witnessed a few minutes ago in his dreams.

"Harry?" Tonks asked, no longer trying to be playful or sarcastic. Her voice was solid, the sort of voice that was used on him when he was in trouble. Even just the one-word question was meaningful. Turning away from her, Harry marched off towards the portrait door, intent on leaving.

The door was locked, just as it always was, something Harry had forgotten. At night the portrait had been commanded not to let anyone out except prefects and teachers, and as the fat lady stood there, staring at him, Harry knew he wasn't about to convince her otherwise. One thing she wasn't, was lenient.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tonks asked as Harry stomped past her again.

He felt a touch of magic and he was frozen in position mid-movement. He tried to scream but nothing came out as he plummeted to the ground, still frozen solid.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, I will." Tonks announced to him. He felt himself lifted into the air and placed back down on the chair he'd pulled over. He was released from the body-bind only to find himself immediately surrounded by ropes. "If you're going to be a child about this whole thing it's up to you, but I'll treat you just like I'd treat a child."

Harry started to say something but more rope wrapped around his mouth, keeping his jaw from moving at all. "You're going to listen to me whether you like it or not," Tonks snapped.

No amount of struggling would let him loose, so Harry watched, with burning eyes, as Tonks stood above him. "First of all, I know you hate that I'm always following you around, but I'm an Auror, and that's what I've been assigned to do. I can either quit, fail, or piss you off, and none of the options sounds so good right now. Second, I want to make sure you're safe, so that leaves me with only one option, since I don't trust anyone else to keep you safe. Third, I don't know what the hell's wrong with you, and why you've been distancing yourself from everyone over the past week. It's like you've got some pent up frustration and you're taking it out on all your friends."

Harry had found something amazing as he stared at Tonks. The woman had the same lips. They weren't huge, puffy lips, nor were they thin, they were medium sized, and pronounced, with small lines that appeared in the corners when she smiled or frowned. He couldn't help but stare at them, so red, so kissable. He even tilted forward as much as the ropes would allow without realizing it.

"Harry!" Tonks said, cutting through his thoughts, suddenly much closer than before, as if the picture had frozen in Harry's mind or a minute while she moved closer. "Talk to me."

The feeling of the ropes around his mouth disintegrated and without thinking, Harry leaned forward to kiss her. Tonks pulled back so fast you would have thought Harry was Voldemort himself. She stared, stunned, touching her lips with her hand.

"You have her lips," Harry said quietly. "They're so beautiful."

Tonks covered her lips with her mouth and when she removed her hand they were thin, lightly colored lips, nothing like before. In fact, they looked a good deal like McGonagall when she was angry and her lips thinned to almost nothing.

"Whose lips?" she demanded immediately.

Angry that she'd made the lips go away, Harry closed his eyes and refused to even look at her. "No you don't," Tonks said, and his eyes shot open again. Her lips were still the same though, and Harry looked to the side, refusing to look at her.

"Fine," was all he heard before Tonks disappeared, leaving him tied up on the chair for the rest of the night. Needless to say, when Hermione found him in the morning, he wasn't particularly happy with Tonks.

•

Three nights later, when Harry woke from the same dream he closed his eyes again, imagining it happening to him. He opened his eyes and it felt as if it were more real, he could feel more sensations than he had before. As her tongue moved its way up his stomach, he shuddered with pleasure that he couldn't imagine.

The tongue stopped at that moment. For the first time the face rose from beneath him and he saw the ashen white complexion turn to him, her face surprised at something that had happened.

Something snapped in him as he stared, mouth agape. He recognized her, though she wasn't the same as when he'd last seen her. The dark hair was no longer tangled, it was a gently soft texture, touchable and infuriating. He face, which had lost is beauty in Azkaban had regained much of it, he could see the strong features that had stood out in the pictures he'd seen before.

He roared in fury and slapped her aside with that same fury. Then, a jolt passed through him and he awaked more severely than he eve had before. He curled into a ball, crying at the face that had burned itself into his memory so many times before.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

• Edited 2004.12.05 •


	2. Seductive Power

Note: Unbeta'd since I have no beta yet.

Chapter 02  
• Seductive Power •

It was four full days before Harry finally slept again, mostly from pure exhaustion. He was scared of seeing her again, maybe because he knew who it was and hated to like it. It didn't come and he was able to stay awake for three more nights after that. Then, a few days later, on his way to transfiguration, the world began to spin and Harry stumbled, grabbing onto something just before collapsing to the cold stone floor.

For a few moments, he was in the dream again, and he could see the back of her back, the smooth ashen white skin, delicate looking, unlike any other woman he knew. Already he could feel pleasure, an intense buildup that wanted to crest.

No longer strong enough to fight it, and finding that he enjoyed the feeling, he gave in, allowing the pleasure overwhelm him. He tried to fall into it as he had before, let the pleasure feed him and make him feel better. Then, at the very moment he began to feel the pleasure come and the feelings latch into him, everything slipped into an eerie darkness and the feeling was ripped away.

He woke soon after as well as he could determine, finding himself in the all-to-familiar medical wing. The matron, upon seeing him wake, scurried away from the potion she had been handling, and pressed her hand to him, holding him down and making him unable to move.

"You, young man, have no slept in quite some time."

Harry did not disagree with her, but he wondered why he was so weak, it was infuriating that he could not do anything, that someone else was controlling him. He stared at her, eyes burning. The matron took it wrong. "Oh no, you're not going to be getting out of here. There was something going on that no one knew about, I've rarely seen this sort of magical draining, and it has never gone on this long without someone noticing. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger reported that, other than your quite mood, they've noticed nothing wrong and that you've had no major scar attacks."

Anger flashed through Harry, he could not believe that Hermione and Ron were reporting his every mood. "I couldn't sleep," he finally said through clenched teeth. "That's all, I'm fine, leave me alone."

Truthfully, he wanted to go back to the dream and just fall into it, it was so much easier to just let it wash over him, so much more pleasurable. It made things better too, whenever he fell into it he was there, and it was happening to him and the pain of the world went away. It felt so good, too good to be a bad thing.

He turned away from her, closing her eyes and trying to sleep again, to find the pleasure he'd been drowning in before he was yanked away from it. Madam Pomfrey bristled and whispered a spell. In a flash, Harry was staring at them, wide-eyed and unable to move.

"Do not ignore me young man. I want to know what is causing this. Albus came to me personally, asking in on your health when he discovered you were here. He is extremely worried about what it is that's happening. According to Ms. Tonks, you've been slightly depressed, and angry that she's been following you around even thought it's her job. Otherwise, there have been no signs of illness according to her."

"I just don't feel good," Harry said weakly even though his anger was simmering under the surface. Now that he'd been trapped there he couldn't help but be even angrier. He was Harry Potter, he didn't deserve to be chained to a table. "I've been having strange dreams."

"About You-Know-Who?" Madam Pomfrey asked inquisitively, far too inquisitive for her own good. Harry was having problems controlling his anger at the moment and she was only making it worse.

"No," he snapped. "And these dreams are personal, nothing that you should be worried about. They're very personal, and they're not causing me not to sleep. If they were, in any way, important to Dumbledore, I'd discuss it with him. I don't plan on having a repeat of what happened two years ago. In addition, while I'm not a master Occlumens, I am very good, good enough in fact, that I haven't had a scar attack since I had proper lessons. It's not as if I can't keep him from invading my mind as he did before."

"Mr. Potter, I was, in no way, implying that..." Madam Pomfrey said, stumbling over her words and their meanings.

He looked at her and his mouth turned, slowly, into a sneer. She stared at him, eyes wide, no longer having any words to speak. The spell that was surrounding him faded and Harry sat up, still fighting the bits of it left, when he heard a crash. His eyes, still flaring with anger, turned towards the door as it opened.

A young woman walked through, looking as if she'd just been molested by one of the knights in the corridor. One of the metal hands was half way into her pocket while the collar of one had somehow made it around her own neck. Harry couldn't help but grin at how clumsy Tonks was, it made it so easy to know where she was. She was, by far, one of the worst choices for a bodyguard. If he never moved she might be able to blend in well, but until then, she was a complete goof.

"What do you want Tonks?" he asked, turning away from her to find some robe or something, since he was only wearing the medical clothing that the matron had place on him. When she froze he ignored her, no longer caring whether or not she was mad at him. He suddenly didn't care if anyone was mad at him anymore.

"I just wanted to see if you were doing alright," she said quietly, approaching from the side, moving slowly. She didn't seem to be happy about the way that she was being treated, nor did she seem to want to do anything about it. Harry didn't feel sorry for her though, she hadn't shown him any consideration at all, especially when she left him tied to the chair a few weeks before. He hadn't gotten over that at all. In fact, he was pretty pissed about it.

"As if you'd care," he snapped back, still avoiding looking at her even though she'd gotten close. He frowned at her, angry that she'd even forced him into that position. If she hadn't, he could have pretended to be asleep while Tonks waited at his side and ignored her altogether.

He found a pair of pants and slipped them on silently. Behind him he heard a sob and he turned to really look at her. It was quite a surprise to see that her lips had finally returned to the normal, full lips that he'd stared at several weeks before.

"Trying to seduce me with your lips?" he sneered, finding that it was both difficult and easy at the same time, as if something inside of him was helping him do it. "As if that would help you."

There was a gleam in her eye, and it looked as if she was angry at him even though she wasn't about to let him know. He scoffed, something he'd never done, not realistically, and it felt good. "Come on, even your Aunt Bellatrix could do a better job than that..."

Tonks gaped, not sure exactly what to say to the accusation. She wasn't going to deny it, since it was obviously true, but she wasn't going to address that he was talking about her Aunt either. He stared at her, still sneering scornfully then decided to add another word, a pet name he'd heard the previous year, in a battle he'd been forced to watch, something Bellatrix had used. "...Nimmy."

Tonks moved forward faster than he expected to her, and he felt the sting of her hand as she slapped him with more force than he'd ever been slapped before. It felt as if he'd been broadsided by a Bludger. "Don't you _ever_ call me that," Tonks snapped and stomped out of the room, furious at Harry. Probably more furious than she'd ever been in her whole life.

Harry close his eyes, feeling a sense of satisfaction at angering her, angry at himself for the same reason. He was angry at her too, for slapping him, but it didn't bruise his ego as much as it angered him that she'd actually done it. After all, he was her charge, and she was hitting him. He wondered briefly if he could use it against her, but instead decided to hold it for when he needed something from her. He stretched, feeling as if some part of him that had been permanently tense, had released. It felt so good not to hold back, even if it wasn't his usual self. It was something that he could get used to.

When he came back to the present, he pulled off the robe that had been placed on him and searched for his cloak and shit. He couldn't find it so he picked up his wand and left the Matron behind, not really wanting to deal with her incessant nagging.

The hallway was empty at first and he made his way down the stairs, heading for something, though he wasn't quite sure what. Some Hufflepuffs passed by him and stopped just after, the boys to stare while the girls whispered between themselves. He knew it because he could feel the looks and hear the whispers just enough to know that they were there. No one said anything out loud though, so he continued past them, they didn't really matter anyway.

It was when he ran into a group of Slytherin 6th years that things got interesting. They were all girls, a few of them he knew, most he didn't. All of them stopped in front of him instead of waiting until he was past them. One of them sneered. "Is that suppose to be attractive Potter?" she asked, her eyes roaming his body.

Harry whipped around, grabbing her shirt and yanking her towards him. With a deft movement he swept over her, and kissed her, shoving his mouth to hers with force. An energy sparked, and he could feel her poring into him, as if he were eating her from the inside. It felt pleasurable, but only for a moment, until the power filled him and began to seep over the edges, scalding his mouth.

With another quick movement, he shoved her away before she collapsed. He stared, furious that she'd insulted him, but also feeling much stronger than he had moments before. She shivered, frightened, and moved backwards, looking away from his eyes. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Nothing a slut like you can give," he said, shoving past her and continuing past the group of girls behind her.

It was only moments before a group Slytherin 6th year boys appeared to avenge her. One of them made to step in front of Harry and he raised his wand, casting a spell before a single word was exchanged. Harry didn't stop at all, just continued past the other boys who simply made a path while glancing to the portrait that the unfortunate boy had suddenly found himself trapped in. One of them started to say something but a look from Harry cut his voice as effectively as cutting his tongue from his mouth.

Harry smirked, then ascended another set of stairs, suddenly knowing where it was that he wanted to go.

It was soon after that he discovered someone was following him. As he moved through the corridors he could hear the steps echo occasionally out of tune with his own. He never saw them though, and as he approached the Room of Requirements, he wondered if they were going to attack him or if they were following him for other purposes.

The door opened on the first pass, it had been doing that since the middle of last year, he heard a sharp breath and he whipped around. "_Accio invisibility cloak_," he said quickly and quietly. A second past and the cloak came shooting towards him revealing a surprised Blaise Zabini. He knew her well; the slim Slytherin had become active over the last two years.

Until then she'd been a quiet, shy girl, but lately she'd had quite a mouth. She didn't participate in the things that the other Slytherins chose to involve themselves in, but she usually got in a lot of trouble for doing other things. She'd been caught four times dueling in the hallways in the past month. Rumor was that all of them had been boys who propositioned her.

Harry stared at her, his eyes narrowing. He had seen one of the boys who'd had the misfortune of dueling with her, and knew that they had been beaten badly. At the moment he wondered what it was that they'd seen in her, she wasn't all that attractive. She would do though, because it wasn't physique he was looking for, merely power.

"Are you coming in or not?" he asked, holding the door for a moment before entering without her, her cloak held tightly in her hand.

When she entered, Harry was sitting in a luxurious sofa that wasn't far from the door. Hogwarts had created something like a lounge room, but it was dark, not the bright colors that Harry was used to. He didn't know why, but it was comfortable, much more in tune with his mood right now. He had folded the silvery cloak over the end of the sofa and was waiting for her.

"An invisibility cloak... expensive."

Blaise's eyes traveled across the room and it changed. Instead of a comfortable lounge room, it looked more like a dueling room, but severely padded. It stayed dark, and the couch that Harry was on was suddenly at the edge.

"You know the secrets of the room," Harry said simply, not even asking if he was right. He was curious as to who had told her, since he knew that she hadn't been a part of the inquisitive squad.

"I've been here before," she commented, her eyes lighting up. "Now, fight me."

"Fight?" Harry asked, staring at her, wondering why she was so tense. She looked as if she'd just got through with a fight. "Why do you think I'd fight you?" he inquired, smiling and trying to shut down her defenses. He didn't even bother raising his wand even though it was in his hand. For some reason everything felt so wrong, had someone raised a wand at him, especially a Slytherin, even the day before, he would have jumped at them, jumped at the chance to vent some of his anger. He didn't feel like that now, he didn't feel like that at all.

"Fight me," Blaise insisted. Harry finally raised his head to look straight at her and she froze, staring. "Your eyes," she said taking a step back. "They're black."

Harry blinked, not saying anything. It troubled him that he hadn't noticed it before, but everything was vivid, perfect, he could see her, but he could see her, the tiny movements she made as she breathed, the fact that she was tense, the way her skin shivered as he stared at her, her pupils dilating.

"Mmm," was all Harry could say, it felt right, so very right. He knew how unnatural this was, how impossible it was that he was calm, but he really didn't care. She was trembling inside, from excitement, and not from the fact that she wanted to fight him, it was what she'd do _after_ she defeated him. He could see it all.

"Come here," Harry said, feeling so at ease that it didn't bother him slightly that she was gunning to take him down.

"Fight me," she said, her resolve weakening, he could tell by the change in tone, and the slight variance in her body language. He sighed again, basking in the feeling he was having.

Blaise moved, and though her resolve had weakened, Harry could see that she was preparing to fight. He stood in a movement as smooth as it was swift. She raised her wand and shot a spell at him as he glided forward, not really walking, nor flying. She had enough sense to start a second spell before he caught her wand hand and crushed it between the two of them. She was breathing hard, breathing so very hard. He sighed again, feeling her against him, finding the feeling intoxicating, the warmth of her skin and gentle movement of it.

The feeling faded, and a terror rose up in him like bile. He pulled away and wretched onto the ground, hating what he'd done over the past hour. So much had happened, and when he'd done it, it had been easy, a simple wave of his wand a flick of his hand. It had felt so good to be so powerful and as scary and heart wrenching it was, he was sad that it was gone.

"Blaise," he said, looking up at her, "help me," he managed to say before collapsing.

• Edited 2004.12.15 •

Yeah, Harry's a little OOC, but I'll explain it next chapter, if you're around for it. I will tell you this, even though Harry's mastered the basics of Occlumens, the new connection platform that he's developed with Voldemort is stronger than anything that's gone on before.


	3. Brannigan

Note: Unbeta'd since I have no beta yet. This chapter is a bit more... erotic, not at first, but Harry really find himself lost in the sensations of what happens. He's still OOC, because of how much he's really being influenced. You'll understand more as I write more. Oh, and this is the second chapter in as many days, I expect to see some good reviews!

Chapter 03  
• Brannigan •

The walls were black, there was darkness all around, but it wasn't a dream, it was real, he was waking to a room he'd never been in. Cold sheets slid from him as he sat up, smooth, silky. His mind buzzed with a haze and uncertainty. He stood, but it was an odd feeling, as if he wasn't the one standing or making himself stand. He was though, he could feel it deep down, he was doing this and he wasn't.

His first glance wasn't towards the door, or the bed as he usually did when he woke, instead it was to a chest. He stared at it and then looked away, unsure why he'd looked in the first place. There was something wrong, something he didn't understand. He turned again, a swift look over the room. It was a Spartan style, lacking in any decoration whatsoever. Even the Hospital wing had some decoration, if it was only a few portraits hanging.

He moved quietly forward, slipping on a vest that seemed to appear in his hands with a thought. The door was unlocked and he walked through, finding a man standing directly across from the door. The black robes and white mask was a clear indication that the man was a Death Eater, and yet, he was not frightened. The man dropped immediately, bowing his head. "M'lord," he said calmly, not daring to look up.

Harry blinked calmly and turned away. He knew he wasn't Harry, he knew that he was Voldemort, and could do nothing about it. He moved, but fought himself, unsuccessfully, trying to find the will to stop. It took several minutes until his steps faltered, and he'd passed by at least eleven other Death Eaters, all of them wearing bone white masks.

It took a moment, and another faltered stop before he stopped altogether. Slowly he twisted around, looking over his shoulder at the dark hallway. Then, he took two more steps forward and opened a door, entering into an empty room. He stepped to a mirror and looked at himself, his thin, scarlet eyes staring back at himself. The face was the same, and yet different. It was white, still ashen white, whiter than bone, with a nose that was like a snake.

Once again he glanced down at his body, flexing his hands gently, looking at the blue outlines of blood that spidered down his hand. He reached out to the mirror, touching it softly, the cold feeling of it traveling down his arm and into his body. He laughed, one short burst of mirthless laughter.

Then, eerily he reached up, touching his face in the mirror as if were a different person. "Hello Harry Potter," he whispered into the mirror, his blazing red eyes staring at his reflection. "Welcome to my world."

Harry tried to pull away, to drop the hand that was touching the mirror and look away, but he couldn't.

"Do not fight it Harry," he said, touching a single finger to the mirror. "I was in your world, briefly at least, and now you are in mine. I do not plan on letting you go though, I want you to see, see what you destroy."

Then he swept away, leaving the mirror and the dark room. Harry walked down the hall, his gate a little longer, a little stronger. He swept into the meeting room, where several of his Death Eaters were eating breakfast. He grimaced, all of them were newer members. It was wrong to see them sitting at the same table, speaking with one another. They were not supposed to know one another, it was one of the rules, one of the things that kept the Death Eaters independent of on another.

"What is this?" he roared angry to see so many of them smiling. None of them had noticed for now, none except for the single Death Eater who was standing, masked at the other side of the room. He was happy, smug, and it angered Harry to know that the man had allowed for this to happen, knowing the results.

"You," Harry hissed, pointing him out. "You will punished first."

"But M'lord..." the new Death Eater said, his voice quivering. One of the younger members, one of the newer Death Eaters. He'd probably been out of school for less than two years, and he just didn't understand.

"You question me?" he hissed, his voice emotionless. He raised his wand, and Harry could feel the buildup behind the emotion, the thing that he'd never understood until now, the hate, the feeling that was placed into the curse.

Flicking his wrist he said the spell, not bothering to shout or exclaim it, it was meant as a warning for this child. "_Crucio_."

The little Death Eater screamed in agony, squirming on the ground like a helpless little puppy. Harry laughed, watching him squirm, suddenly discovering how good it felt to hold power over someone. The pleasure of such power was almost unparalleled. "Do not allow such a thing again," he hissed, turning on the others.

For twenty minutes his heart fluttered at the screams of others. When he was done he was once again calm, a feeling of tranquility as they all bowed before him.

Others had joined the proceedings, and as he looked upon those gathered, the wave of bone white masks, of his unblemished followers, he smiled wickedly. "It is time to show the world our true power."

His footfalls were followed by cheering, dozens of them knew what he was going to do, knew that the sniveling ministry was going to be bled, and that when it rose again it would be filled with those who had been enlightened to the cause.

"M'lord," a voice said, a female voice, a voice he knew.

"Bellatrix," he breathed, feeling warmth from inside. He had had an insatiable appetite for woman lately, and she'd been one to fulfill his needs, one of many, but his favorite. Her husband was dead, dying in one of the few battles that had happened over the past two years. So unfortunate, he knew she would have given herself over anyway, but her husband being dead had meant fewer things to deal with.

"My lord," she said, raising her eyes to meet his. He smiled, and nodded, knowing what it was.

Many of the things he'd been working on had been experimental, things he'd been trying on his Death Eaters to see how well they worked. Potions that helped bring life, mirroring the effects of the Philosophers Stone. However, they did more than that when first tested, they revitalized life, bringing youth to those who drank the potion. Bellatrix had been one of those fortunate enough to drink it before it was taken away, and more than just her youth had returned. The drives of her youth had returned as well.

At that time he had not wanted it, and she had explored some of the younger Death Eaters, taking whatever it was that their young, inexperienced bodies could give her. None of them sufficed, none were enough to keep her ache at bay and she had come to his room one night, not more than a month ago. Since then everything had changed, his appetite for woman had changed, and though the potions had not worked as effectively on him, somehow he to had gained the things that had driven him in his youth.

The petite Death Eater stood, moving away, down through the halls that led to his personal chambers.

Soon she was in his room, waiting silently. He knew she came for many reasons, and he didn't care that he didn't please her as well as she'd like, because she pleased him well. She wanted many things from him, other than pleasure, and by sharing his bed so willingly, she got them. She was favored, highest in his inner circle even though her resolve weakened occasionally.

He flicked his hand and she nodded, undressing slowly. The site was one to behold, her robes slipped away leaving inner robes that were held tightly to her body. She unbuttoned them slowly, and with difficulty, sliding them down and showing him her ample chest. They were like two ripe melons with tiny buttons upon them, perfect. Harry shuddered and with it, the body did as well. He blinked, surprised, and he saw that Bellatrix was looking at him, surprised.

"Shall I summon another, my lord?" she asked, staring at him with surprise.

Harry was startled at the request, unable to comprehend having two woman at his disposal. He knew that it had happened, and he could see memories of it happening, though he'd not had them until that moment. He didn't speak at first, trying to decide, but finally his head shook. "No, continue," he said in an eager voice.

Bellatrix stared at him, forgetting herself. He stepped forward, partially angry, and she remember herself again. She stood, keeping her head bowed, and made a motion to take his cloak. He nodded, and she took it, moving behind him, slipping it from his shoulders slowly. Her hands reached around the front, gently caressing him and causing the blood to pump through his body.

Closing his eyes, he let her do her work. He shuddered with pleasure as she writhed on top of him, and allowed himself to get lost in the feeling. It was so good that, for a moment, he forgot who he was, whose body he was in, and he didn't care who she was, just that the feeling was present and it was good.

He jerked forward, loosing his focus, finding release, and a blissful feeling. He bathed in the feeling, allowed it to wash over him and fill him with ecstasy.

When he opened his eyes she was on top of him, looking concerned. Harry felt angry, angry as he'd felt angry at Tonks, angry at Voldemort, angry at his friends for betraying him, angry at the world. He shoved her away, causing her to topple to the floor as he stood. She scampered to her feet and bowed at the edge of the bed, not daring to look up for several minutes. When she did look up her eyes were hesitant, and full of wonderment. The push hadn't put her off, it had made her more eager, he could tell. "M'lord?" she asked tentatively, not sure how to react to this new side of him.

Harry opened his mouth, knowing that he was not himself, and happy that he no longer had the same rules. "More," he growled, reaching out and catching her hair, yanking her to her feet so that she faced him. She had never faced him, he'd never wanted it before, he didn't enjoy looking upon their face, because it made him feel in less control. Now, now he wanted it every way imaginable.

"You never..." she started to say, and Harry lashed out at her, unable to stop himself. He was starting to lose control again, not even realizing how much control he'd gained for the moment. He stopped again, staring at his feet, focusing on the blissful feeling.

"More," he finally growled again, knowing, of all things, he wanted more. She nodded weakly, dropping her face as she stood in front of him, waiting for him to do whatever it was he wanted her to do. He gripped her arm, pulling her close and touching her like he'd never touched a woman in his life. For once in a long time, he was happy, knowing that when his rules returned he would be angry with himself, but enjoying the feeling while it lasted.

It was another hour when Bellatrix slipped from his bed, as she'd always done, allowing him to sleep. He grabbed her though, caught her arm and squeezed it tight..

"More," he said again.

When she turned to him her eyes were on fire, and he could tell that she knew something was wrong, but he didn't care, didn't care if anyone knew, he wanted more, he wanted it until he was too exhausted to think.

She bowed and he grabbed her neck, yanking her closer. She quivered from the touch, and he knew she wanted more than just sex, she wanted to be dominated. He pulled her up, then slapped her across the face, leaving a mark. "You're not good enough," he criticized, "I want more."

"Of course my..." she trailed off as he yanked her from the bow she'd started into.

"For your service, I'll grant you something, but I need more."

Bellatrix's eyes were suddenly hesitant, she looked up at him, staring at his eyes, watching his face. He waited to hear the request, but none came. "Woman," he growled, "what is it you want?"

"A mark," she finally revealed.

He paused, staring at her. "You have a mark," he snapped, irritated at such a foolish request.

"No," she said, dropping her eyes from view, and he grabbed her again, raising her face so he could look into her dark brown eyes. "Mark me with _your_ mark."

More memories flashed, memories of lust, of power, of things that he'd seen done. Some of the Death Eaters needed powerful mates, mates that controlled them and asserted their dominance in another way. She wanted him to mark her in a sexual way, a dominate way.

Nodding, he pulled her close to him so that they faced each other as she slither across his slick flesh until they were together. He moved, taking the chain this time, doing what he wanted. At first it was slow, a slow rhythmic beat that made her moan. He buried his mouth in her neck, feeling the heat, smelling her sweet flesh. Another hand traveled around her, slipping to the top of her ass, holding her tightly as he increased his speed.

The moaning became a constant and he kissed her neck, until he felt the pulse pumping blood through her. Grinning maliciously he wrapped his mouth around the pulse, around the warmth it possessed. It was a sweat, salty flavor, something that his tongue enjoyed. Then, with no warning he bit down, his teeth sinking into her soft flesh. She screamed, but not in pain, and he thrust one last time into her, finding that the bite had taken him over the edge along with her. He held her tightly as he released again.

Several minutes later, after both had let the pleasure fade, she sat up and stared. "Thank you Master," she said, staring into his eyes. There was something significant about the way she said it, something that made it wrong, as if she were no longer addressing him. Harry looked away. "Bring another," he said, licking his lips and tasting the remnants of the blood that he'd caused to come from her wound, the mark he'd given her. She nodded and stood, finding a robe to place on her, covering the red mark where blood had begun to thicken.

More came. Many more, and by the time night fell, he was sated for a while.

• Edited 2004.12.16 •


	4. Trepidation

Note: Unbeta'd since I have no beta yet. This is the third chapter in as many days, I am hoping to see more people reviewing though. I know it's a little shorter than the rest, but I didn't want to make it a long chapter, what happened should be enough to entice readers, if you like this sort of thing. Believe me - it'll be Harry/Bella, but I'm building to it.

Chapter 04  
• Trepidation •

Harry awoke to a bed that was not his, to a woman that meant nothing to him. He shoved her away, pushing through the four on his bed. Two of them were not even Death Eaters, and one had been a muggle who'd been imprisoned, a muggle who had been willing to come to his room if only to stay alive for a while longer.

Staring at her, he found himself appalled at what he'd done. She was already awake, and in the corner of the room. There was a guard outside, someone that would have kept her in, so she could not escape. She looked at him, tears poring down her face. "Let me go," she said with a whimper.

There was another moment, a moment that Harry returned. He could see the woman standing crumpled in front of him begging for life, and something stirred, an anger for causing her pain. "Get out!" he yelled whipping around to the bed, where the other three woman had suddenly awakened. All of them were confused for a moment, and none were dressed in a shed of clothing. "OUT!" he roared with such force that several of them fell backwards, raising his wand.

Each darted from the bed, heading towards the door. The room was empty in a matter of seconds, empty except for the muggle woman and him.

Dropping to a knee, he raised her head to his. Her blue eyes were nothing special, just a light shade with tiny flakes of green embedded. Her straight black hair was plastered to her skin from a night of sweaty activities and no longer straight. The tan skin, the thing he'd found himself touching much of the night, was trembling from the empty cold of the room, or perhaps his anger.

"What is it you want?" she asked, her voice quivering. "I'll do anything if you let me live."

Something inside him fought, fought to be unchained, and the control Harry had was lost. But, he did not raise his wand and kill her on the spot. His lips spread in a smile, a sickening smile. "You wish to live?" he asked enjoying the emotions that Harry had shown towards this woman. It was not the only one, but she would suffice for now.

The woman nodded.

"What is your name?" he asked. He did not know, nor did he care, he wanted Harry to know, and Harry knew this, he could feel the thoughts that were coming, and he tried to fight again, tried to fight what was going to happen.

"I am Christine," she said weakly.

"Christine, then." Harry said. "How is it you came to be here?"

This was something he didn't know yet, Death Eaters had been abducting muggles from all over, some to kill, some to torture, all to pleasure themselves in one way or another.

"I... was working..." she said, faltering, "it was only my second night..."

"Where do you work Christine?" he asked, sauntering over to his desk to write a note he would attach to her.

"The..." she stopped, looking down again.

"Christine," Harry said, his voice quite, but carrying a dangerous edge to it. He continued to write, feeling odd to write a note to himself. Perhaps he wouldn't remember everything when he returned and that's why Voldemort was writing him.

"Oxford, Oxford Street."

"You work a street?" Harry asked, pausing. He smiled, as it dawned on him what she'd been doing. "You work a street," he said, repeating himself, but in an understanding tone. "Why choose such a job for yourself?"

"I... I... left home and my parents told me never to come back. At first it was alright, I had money, but my money went away and I couldn't keep my apartment. I lived in my car and tried to find a job... but there was this man who helped me get a job carrying things, and then he made me try them. After that, everything went wrong. I lost my car, and my job, because I couldn't leave the stuff alone," she said, sobbing. "They told me if I worked the street I'd make enough money to buy some, but I couldn't do it right. Tanya showed me, she showed me how to get them to come to me. The man that brought me here told me he could give me everything I wanted..."

Promises, such sweet promises. Whores on the street that needed something were easily swayed even without magic. He was happy that Harry had enjoyed this one, it was much easier to do this because she wasn't magical, because she couldn't fight back.

"And now you want to live, you've forgotten about the other things you found necessary, and you want to live."

She whimpered, he'd seen her act like this in the cell as she walked past and he could tell that she would be perfect for Harry's tastes, so weak and in need of a strong person to hold her chain. She was a natural slave, and it was something that he'd discovered he liked, at least while Harry was with him, he enjoyed marking them, making them his own. Harry would enjoy the gift too.

Again Harry fought it, trying to control himself, all he had to do was walk to the door and command the guard to return her to the street. It would take only a minute, and she'd be free. The pen stopped writing for a second as his emotions built. "Stay calm," he whispered. "Accept the gift, for it is something you'll enjoy. You can see how badly her life has gone, do you want her to return to the streets, only to die?"

Some of the emotions that had strengthened died again, and all the control was lost.

He finished the note, then turned to the woman, Christine. "I can offer you life," he said, taking the quill and dipping it in ink. "But there will be a price."

"What?" she asked, quietly, tears still sliding down her cheeks.

"Do you remember last night, when I marked you?" he asked, approaching and pushing her head down with his hands. On the back of her neck, where her shoulders came together was a wide mark where he'd drawn blood at least once the night before.

Christine whimpered. He touched the quill to her neck, pushing just hard enough to break the tender coating that had formed. She whimpered again.

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked.

The body, which had been shaking until now, stilled. She froze in terror. He raised her head with his hand, staring into her eyes. He was right though, it wasn't just terror, it was the urge to do something that she'd only dreamed of. The sort of thing she had been taught was wrong, but it was something that made her warm inside. To belong to someone, to serve them was an exhilarating feeling, something she had enjoyed. She didn't say it, but he knew.

"Would you like to belong to someone, someone who'll treat you well, better than I?"

She didn't answer, because she couldn't verbalize it. After being told for so long that it was wrong her mind was in conflict about it, no matter how good it felt. Harry smiled and tilted her head down again, this time watching the blood well up in the wound. He poked the quill into it, hard, watching as the blood turned black.

Then he reached into his wand pocket, withdrawing the long wand that lay within. He stared at it, and then at the woman, focusing because of the difficulty of the spell. He touched her neck with the wand, just enough that the blood connected to it. She felt the ink enter into her blood, the hot searing pain of it and screamed in pain but found herself unable to move.

"_Maculigo_," he said simply and the black blood began to form, the wound healing. He pulled the quill from it and watched as the skin glossed over a symbol appeared, a slender line, broken only once. A bolt of lightning. He turned away as she screamed in pain on the floor, knowing that while it hurt she was enjoying having it forced upon her.

"Now, she is yours Harry Potter," he said quietly. "A present from me."

He looked to the table, intending on writing something else, but what it was, Harry would not know. He felt himself shoved backwards, shoved harder and harder until he was flying through darkness, no longer in Voldemort's body, no longer feeling the pleasure of watching someone writhe beneath him, and at the same time hating himself for it.

It all snapped together, as if his body and spirit crashed into one another. He screamed in horrific pain, and found that there were people all around him, and he was in a white room, something that was familiar. A girl was looking at him, her face stricken, her bushy brown hair bobbed as she pulled away. A redhead stood next to her, a boy with a face so familiar, so terribly familiar. Then, it was gone, all of it. The room turned dark and the pain ceased as he blacked out.

• Edited 2004.12.17 •


	5. Gifts

Note: I made some changes to this chapter, so I deleted it and added a bunch (over 2k words). Only a few people had read it by that time, so I'm not too worried. If you're one of those 25, most of the chapter isn't changed, just a few things Dumbledore does to make him seem more in character. Mostly I added more after Hermione's shows up, instead of putting it into the next chapter. It's still unbeta'd, and I would like to see more reviews from those reading.

Chapter 05  
• Gifts •

_Time_. The thing he kept recalling, the word that repeated over and over in his head.

Time what? Harry wondered. Was there some sort of time, something that would happen soon? Was he to wait for something?

"Harry," a voice came, breaking him from his thoughts. He looked up surprised to see Dumbledore looming over his bed looking sad, disappointed almost. He blinked, wondering what it was that was wrong. There was a buzzing every time he looked at the headmasters eyes, as if a part of his brain wasn't working right.

_Time_. It echoed in his head again. Making him blink and pull away from the look the headmaster was giving him.

"Yes?" Harry asked, finding it difficult to focus.

"We must speak about what happened before you lapsed into magical comatose."

"What happened..." Harry repeated the words, trying to think, to understand the reason Dumbledore was coming to him. "What happened?" he asked, not sure what it was that had happened. He avoided looking into the headmasters eyes so that his mind wouldn't buzz again, it was very uncomfortable.

_Time_. The word repeated. _It will soon be time_.

"You do not recall anything that happened to you between now and four days ago when you were brought to the Medical Wing for collapsing?"

"There was a girl..." Harry said, stretching his mind to remember, thinking as hard as he could. "No, there was more than one, several of them. But there was a girl too..."

"Ms. Zabini, yes. She brought you to Poppy almost three nights ago, said you'd collapsed in front of her."

"Blaise?" Harry asked, blinking. He knew Blaise Zabini, he'd seen her before. It wasn't Blaise, she was thinner, with long hair and small breasts, it wasn't her. This woman was older, with much shorter hair. She was not fat, but she wasn't thin either, and she was very well developed.

"There was a report of several Slytherin girls coming in contact you a few hours before Blaise brought you in. One of them was quite ill, they said you kissed her."

"Kissed?" Harry repeated, racking his brain to remember. "Yes..." he whispered with a sigh, remembering kissing the girls. But it hadn't been one girl, it had been many of them, many woman, and he'd done so much more, things that made him shiver with pleasure.

"What was it you did to her?"

_Time_.

"I..." Harry said, closing his eyes. Flashes appeared, glimpses of things he was sure he hadn't imagined. "I don't..."

"Bella!" he screamed, grabbing his head with his hands, trying to crush his skull. He remembered her, a strong image, a frame from a memory he didn't have. He remembered punishing her. But, for what? What had she done? When had he punished her? How had she been in the same room as him? Had he had another dream with her in it? Was she trying to seduce him? Was Voldemort forcing her to do this?

"Headmaster," a voice said, and Harry looked beyond, eyes wide and unfocused. There was a woman there and it took a moment before he recognized her as Professor McGonagall. She seemed blurred, stretched and squashed. Her mouth contorted in a look of horror that he was unsure about. It was almost like a smile, a smile that was directed at him. Why was she smiling? What had he done? She was too far, too far to be happy for him, and he didn't understand, didn't understand why she was smiling.

"Professor," The headmaster said, turning and acknowledging her presence.

Harry shook his head, the headmaster shouldn't be acknowledging her, because he was already talking, they'd been having a conversation. It didn't make sense, why hadn't they finished the conversation? Why was the headmaster ignoring him?

_Time_. The word pulsed in his head. _It is time to receive my gift._

"A gift," Harry repeated slowly. "A gift?" he asked, a little louder, finding that the conversation in his head was much more revealing, easier to follow.

Professor McGonagall was staring at him when he looked up, wide mouth, large enough that he could fit his head into it. He reached for it, unsure how it had gotten so big, curious to see if he could crawl into it. He couldn't understand how her eye had turned to slits and her hands stretched like huge spiders. He blinked again, finding it was difficult to keep track of her as she stretched and changed over and over again.

_Gift. _The word pulsed through his head. _Your gift._

Two more people entered, one of them was a squat little man. _Professor Flitwick_ his mind told him, The second was a woman, floating behind, wrapped in a cloak. She was naked underneath, he could tell from the way they'd wrapped her up to keep her from being naked. But he could see her, see her tanned complexion and short-black hair.

"My gift!" he said, startled, knowing that was what she was. "But why a gift?"

He stood up and stumbled to the floor, finding that his feet didn't work like they were suppose to. His left foot was on his left side, and his right on his right, and he didn't understand how they were on the wrong side, because they were on the right side. He shook his head and stared at his foot, flexing one and then the other. He thought hard, focusing, pulling himself to his feet again and taking a step forward, and then another.

The protests of the Matron went unnoticed, as if his ears had turned off for a minute. Dumbledore quieted her, watching Harry curiously, trying to decide what he was doing and why. Professor Flitwick stopped in front of a bed and laid the woman to rest there, securing the robe around her better so that it was difficult to see anything. Harry stepped to the other side of the bed, reaching down to the mattress and putting a hand there to balance himself.

He stared at the woman, focusing in on her face for a long moment until his eyes straightened out and her features formed correctly instead of stretching out. He knew this woman, He knew her name.

Leaning over, he brushed the short hair away from her face, looking at her closed eyes, brushing away the bits of dirt that were there. She was sleeping, so quietly, sleeping so peacefully. He knew her and yet he had never seen her in his life

_Kiss her._

Harry blinked, pulling back.

_Kiss me._ The word pulsed, as if it she were saying it. He knew she wanted him to do it, and he knew he wanted to do it, it made sense. So, he leaned forward, touching his lips to hers.

Harry pulled back, smiling, knowing her name; it floated in the back of his mind, waiting for him to open his mouth. "Christine," he whispered, softly, feeling secure even though he'd never kissed a woman, really kissed one. Her eyes flickered open, looking at him as if she knew him. Her eyes were pale, even paler than he remember them being. It was only a flash, but he remembered that flash completely, like a huge portrait painted in his mind. A perfect imagine of her standing before him, her smooth skin covered in beads of water. But her eyes were different, not so different, but different..

_Time._

"Time for what?" he asked aloud.

_Time._

"Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore asked, as if inquiring what was wrong.

Harry turned to look at him, not understanding. His mind began to buzz again and he stepped began to step forward, but her hand grabbed his with a vice like grip. He turned back to her. She stared at him, eyes pleading, he nodded, understanding even if he wasn't sure how.

"She is mine," he said. "He gave her to me."

"_He_, Mr. Potter?"

"I don't know, he gave her to me, said it was a gift."

Her grip tightened. Harry nodded, looking back to the headmaster. His mind buzzed as soon as they made eye contact, so he stared at the headmaster's nose, keeping from looking in the eyes. "She doesn't want me to leave."

"Albus," Professor McGonagall said, offering him a note as a way of explanation.

The headmaster's eyes dropped, scanning the note at least twice. He reluctantly stepped forward and handed it to Harry, his eyes loosing a little bit of sparkle.

_Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter,_

_This woman, a gift, is herby presented to Harry Potter on the Seventeenth day of January, Nineteen Hundred, Eighty Eight. Steps have been taken to insure she is the property of Harry Potter, and a notice has been given to the Ministry of Magic._

_According to the fourteenth section of the Stainer Treaty, Eighteen Hundred Thirty Two, she has been titled as the Chattel of Lord Potter. Therefore, as soon as he accepts this gift, she will be considered the property of Lord Potter. Control of the gift cannot be handed over, and is only released upon the event of his death, should there be no heir. The property, known as Christine, unless another name shall be given by Lord Potter, is therein given the rights of a serf, serving under Lord Potter._

_My Condolences_

There was a gap, where the name was suppose to be, and as Harry's eyes looked for the name more words scrawled across the paper as if they were being written right in front of him. It was talking to him, it was odd that a piece of paper was talking to him, but he listened, and read what it contained.

_Harry,_

_This portion of the letter can be read by your eyes only. I have bestowed upon you such a gift so that you may understand how much you and I can become, together. We have been sharing things you and I, and you've come to enjoy this woman in our brief time together. She will serve you, help you find yourself, that is all she knows now, that she must serve you in all things. Already she bears you mark at the top of her neck, a mark we placed on her.  
Enjoy her, discover what you have forgotten. The time will soon come when we shall meet face to face and I will ask you to join me. For now, discover your true boundaries, do not let others hold you back. Once she has come to you, you need but kiss her once as a sign of acceptance, then all the laws shall come full force and she'll remain forever yours, no matter the path in life you choose to take._

There was no name, nothing to call the person by, and as soon as he finished reading the words the faded away. Harry looked up, not understanding. She was a gift, but why? what had he done? Why was she his property? Were people not people, did they not have there own rights? Did she want to be his property? Why would she want such a thing?

"I don't understand," he said, looking to Dumbledore. The buzz intensified again and he focused on the nose.

Some part of the twinkle returned, as if had expected Harry to accept her immediately. He didn't realize he had accepted her, unwittingly. "The Stainer treaty was a treaty dealing with the goblins," he explained. "The full contents do not matter, as they are several hundred pages dealing with goblin rights. However, it allowed for woman, specifically goblin woman, to be considered property. As Goblins do not consider the females to have the same rights as the males do, just as house-elves have no rights. The catch was that one had to undergo a spell to prove they were property.

"While the writers of the treaty implied goblin woman, they never wrote it out in words, never said it specifically, thereby leaving a loophole in the law allowing for a human woman to undergo the same spell. Once this spell was used and accepted, it meant the owner was entitled to the woman in all ways, for she became his property, a slave. It works among several species that have similar intelligence levels. The spell that was created to do the magic has been kept a secret, only used when a Goblin brings his wife before a court and has need to prove she is his property for some reason.

"While a few do know the spell, it is not as simple as just casting it. The spell must be met with a willingness from within, and no manner of magic can force a woman to allow the spell to take hold of her. She must want it, and give herself freely or the magic does not work."

"I don't understand though," Harry repeated. "Why is she mine?"

The letter had said that the person had been sharing things with him, and she was one of them, but he didn't remember who he was sharing things with, or how she had come to know him, or how he knew her.

"She is not yours." Dumbledore said with a nod. "Not unless you accept the gift."

"But I did..." Harry said slowly, "...the kiss..."

Dumbledore frowned. Trying to catch Harry's eye again, trying to see something within.

It was obvious he didn't understand, Harry knew it was because he hadn't read the rest of the letter. The letter had told him it was only for him, so the headmaster must not have read it.

Watching carefully, the headmaster though about what was happening. The boy had been different lately, and not just during the past few days. The past few weeks had shown Harry becoming somewhat of a recluse, keeping away from people in general. Tonks had reported him to be in a deep emotional state again, likely having flashbacks of one of the prior battles he'd witnessed. Then, the boy had gone berserk, escaping the hospital wing and running through the halls, performing feats of magic that the headmaster had only seen performed a few times in his life, when _he _had performed them. He didn't even know of Voldemort could use such magic, and Harry was using it without even realizing. Then Harry had returned once more, in a state of magical comatose.

"The kiss was a means of accepting her?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "How is it you know that?"

"The letter told me," Harry said, pointing it out, wondering why the headmaster just didn't know this. The headmaster always knew everything, it was his job. He must be having problems if he was forgetting things he should know.

"It said you wouldn't be able to read it," he offered, hoping to offer Dumbledore a way out of forgetting what he knew. He handed the letter to Dumbledore, who took it quickly. Removing his wand from his pocket, Dumbledore tapped the letter to reveal the hidden message, only to have the whole thing burst into flames. Harry ignored it, turning back to the woman.

"You are mine?" he asked, feeling an odd tingling from inside, he possessed very little, and he'd never owned a person before, it was comforting and strange even if it was odd.

She nodded, not saying anything, but he could tell she was frightened. "I will not hurt you," he assured her. "You will be safe here."

"How does the castle rebuild?" she asked in a voice that was so quiet, it was barely a whisper, but Harry heard it without even trying to listen. "It was broken," she said, confused, "ruined, and it rebuilt itself."

"A muggle?" Madam Pomfrey inquired from the side, having appeared the moment the girl spoke "But how did she get here?"

"She just appeared beside me," Professor Flitwick revealed, "as Minerva and I were taking a stroll along the lake, discussing some of the students. Minerva though it important for Albus to see the note immediately while I checked the woman to insure she was in good medical condition prior to moving her here.

"And you could not tell she was a muggle?" Dumbledore asked, surprised.

"No, she had no wand, but she had magic inside her, if only a little, I didn't realize it was from a spell being performed on her."

"Something must be done about this," Professor McGonagall said, angrily. Her lips thinned out and Harry tilted his head, remembering lips thinning from bright puffy lips, beautiful lips that were so kissable.

He turned to look at Christine's lips. While they weren't the lips he remembered, they were thicker, with a little more pout to them. They were almost too puffy, almost. Still, they were quite kissable. Harry leaned over again, and pecked them softly again, deciding he liked her lips, they were too soft not to like.

None of the teachers were watching, he could hear them talking behind him and he smiled at Christine. She loosened her grip just enough that she was still in contact, but no longer holding him as if he'd go.

"If he has accepted the gift with a kiss, as he said, then nothing can be done," Dumbledore said gravely. "The woman is bound to Harry. As a serf she is even given the right to follow him through the school to insure to his needs. It is one of the more archaic rules of the school. A rule that has gone unchanged for far too long. It has been unused for more than one hundred and fifty years now, and even then it was only to purebloods who still maintained slaves other than house-elves. It is a rule, used or unused, and the gift giver has sighted it, no doubt sighting it in the letter that was sent to the ministry offices. This woman, Christine, has every right to be here now, and there is nothing we can do about it."

He looked to Harry, who was waiting patiently, enjoying the feeling of Christine rubbing her head against his arm. "I do not understand how you could accept such a gift without thinking about it."

"I only kissed her," Harry said simply. "She wanted me to, she _told_ me to. I did not know it meant she would be my slave. I did not read the letter until after."

"Harry!" said a female voice. Two people entered the Hospital, his friends. The teachers froze, and Hermione looked concerned. "What's happening?" she asked before seeing Christine clutching onto Harry as if he were a life-preserver.

"Harry?" Ron managed to choke out as he stared at Christine. His mouth was slightly parted slightly, unsure of what else to say.

Harry nodded, unsure how to reply. He felt so lightheaded, and nothing was bothering him. It felt odd, but he was alright with it, alright with everything.

Hermione stepped forward, give Ron a meaningful stare and then placing herself between Ron and Christine. "Who is she?" she asked, trying to sound as nice as possible, but her voice betrayed her jealousy. She couldn't see all of Christine, but she was still wrapped in a cloak, and it didn't take much imagination to decide she was likely naked underneath it.

"Christine," Harry said simply, not feeling the need to explain any more than the question.

"Why is she here?" Hermione asked. "I don't recognize her, and she doesn't look like a Hogwarts student anyway."

"Mrs. Granger," Dumbledore said, stepping forward.

Harry answered. He didn't see any reason not to. "She was a gift to me."

"Gift?" Hermione asked.

Harry could tell, even in his odd state of being, she was thinking about it, trying to work out exactly what he was saying. He thought it might be better to just tell her, she always thought too hard about things, and it would make it much easier if someone simply explained everything to her. Dumbledore was moving forward, saying something, but Harry didn't hear him because he didn't want to hear him, he had decided it would be best not to make Hermione think so hard. "She is my property."

"Harry!" Dumbledore snapped, "Please do not speak further on this matter. I will escort Mrs. Granger and explain..."

"Property? Like a slave?" Hermione asked, her voice tinted with anger. "You have a slave Harry?"

"Yes, of course," he said, wondering why she was asking him again, he'd just explained it to her. "She is a Chattel," he said, remember the word the letter had said.

"Mrs. Granger..." Dumbledore said, but he didn't have any further say. Hermione burst.

"You're accepting slaves now!? What is wrong with you! You can't have a slave, no one deserves to be treated as a slave, not house-elves, not trolls, and especially not people. How can you say that she's just your slave without even thinking about what _she_ wants?!!!"

"She wants to be my slave," Harry said, not really understanding why Hermione was yelling at him.

Turning, he glanced to Christine, as if asking her without words to confirm what he'd said. She nodded several times, pulling herself closer to his arm, coming into a sitting position as she did. The robe that had been covering her slipped away, and her breasts were bared. She didn't move to cover herself, instead looking to Harry, as if asking him what to do.

Harry stared, blinking at her, unsure. He began to reach up, to cover her, when there was a screech. He heard voices, words, and then something struck him in the back of the head, knocking him to the floor.

Professor Dumbledore shouted, followed by the stern voice of Professor McGonagall. Something exploded and dirt showered Harry as he lay on the floor, his senses finally clearing. He pulled himself up, turning around to see the scene.

Christine had jumped from the bed, and was on top of Hermione, hands wrapped around her neck. The cloak lay halfway between her and the bed she'd been laying on. Ron was staring, completely enamored by the scene, not even realizing his best friend was being choked to death by the naked girl on top of her. Three beds had been blown into the wall, and looked as if they were now a part of it. Dumbledore was lying on his side while Professor McGonagall shook him.

"STOP!" Harry roared. "STOP NOW!"

Christine stopped, looking up, bewildered. She pulled herself to her feet and backed away slowly, letting Hermione catch her breath. "Put some clothing on," he snapped at her, realizing how truly naked she was now that his mind had cleared. "Ron, help Hermione," he commanded, seeing that Hermione wasn't doing well and knowing that the Matron would go for Dumbledore first.

For the first time since he'd appeared, Ron's attention was dragged away from Christine. He looked up to Harry for a second, and then down to Hermione. He dropped to his knees immediately and tried to help Hermione sit up. She was breathing hard, finding that her throat still partially constricted. She stared, eyes blazing, at Christine while Harry turned to look at Dumbledore and McGonagall.

Madam Pomfrey had taken over for McGonagall, tending to whatever had happened to the headmaster. Harry watched McGonagall glance, stricken up at Harry.

"I'm sorry," Professor Flitwick said, moving forward from where he'd disappeared to. "I was only trying to incapacitate Mrs. Granger from doing any harm. I didn't realize she would use such a strong reflection spell so quickly. It was only a freezing charm, but I'm afraid that when combined with the charm that the headmaster used against her it much more harmful."

Harry couldn't put together what happened, but, Christine was next to him, and when she touched him he knew, almost as if he drew the answer from her. The vision was silent, like watching a movie without sound. He could see Hermione raising her wand and open her mouth as if to fire a curse at Harry. Professor Flitwick and Headmaster Dumbledore bother raised their wands simultaneously to stop her, but Hermione changed her mind, using another spell first, a blue shield rose around her as the two spells struck. Both struck at the same time, almost next to each other. But, because of the position they'd been fired from, Flitwick's bounced away from him, mixing with Dumbledores as it reflected back at him. Dumbledore had no time to do anything but dodge. He started to move, and was struck in the shoulder by the mixed curse, sending him flying. The curse continued on until it struck the ground behind him, blowing away a good portion of the medical wing. Then the next thing he saw was Hermione's face underneath him, choking.

The memory faded and he looked to Christine, who was kneeling now, almost as if apologizing. "It's alright," he said, noticing she had put the cloak on properly, even buttoning it up so that it didn't hang open and leave her exposed.

"I am going to leave now." Harry growled angrily, no longer feeling he slightest bit sick or woozy. He didn't look to anyone else, just said it to the room. Then he looked to Christine, who nodded slightly. "She's coming with me," he said. He helped her to her feet, made sure the robe was closed fully, and marched out of the Medical Wing, leaving his two best friends and several teachers in complete confusion.

• Edited 2004.12.17 •

BabyRuth - I'm not going to tell if I'm a guy or girl, but it should be obvious, seeing as it's in my profile. One of the very first things in itI believe. Oh, and I know dominant and submisive girls, so it's not just a guy thing. Some of the more dominant girls i know are actually pretty damned scary when they want to be. But, the thing with BDSM is that it's not something to cause pain in the sense that most people understand. Some people (I have no personal preference of this sort of sex - but i know more than a few people into it) enjoy it a great deal. Thanks for reading, hope to see more reviews.


	6. Stagger

Note: Unbeta'd since I have no beta yet. This is the fifth chapter in four days, Still looking to get more reviews though, come on baby, let's hear some suggestions or thoughts!

Chapter 06  
• Stagger •

Outside, the halls were loud with the sounds of students going places, it was evening time, but still not late enough to be dinner. Harry had seen the time just before leaving. He turned to look to Christine, who was looking around, scared, apparently not seeing the castle for what it was.

"Christine," he said crisply, offering his hand to her.

The moment they touched a spark of something traveled from Harry to her and he could feel her relax. She turned slowly, staring at the walls. "It's so beautiful," she whispered, as if finally seeing the castle for what it was. "Like magic."

"It is magic Christine," Harry said, allowing her to look, but not wanting to stay long. If they stayed too long Hermione would come bowling out of the Hospital herself, spitting mad. "The castle is a place for teaching magic, you'll see some of it soon enough."

"Show me," Christine said, fascinated.

Harry shook his head, trying to think about what was happening. "Not here, we need to keep going. I've done something wrong, and I'm not sure what it is. We need to go somewhere where I can think without being bothered."

"Alright," Christine said, refusing to let go of his hand.

Harry wasn't sure how it was happening, but she didn't seem to be able to see the castle as it was unless he was touching her. After sighing, Harry thought about it. He couldn't go back to the common room, Hermione'd find him immediately, that meant he couldn't go to the room of requirements either, it would be the second place she looked.

An idea struck, and Harry nodded, assuring himself it was the best plan.

Taking the lead, he found it odd to have someone follow behind him so close, so subserviently. Even Dobby the house-elf wasn't so blatantly submissive. She didn't ask where he was going, didn't question him in the slightest, just followed his hand. Harry wondered how far she'd follow, if he decided to walk off the banister if she'd continue with him. It was difficult to think that someone would trust him that much. Even Hermione and Ron, his former best friends, questioned him.

As they stepped down the stairs they moved suddenly, changing the platform they were attached to above. Christine trembled, he could feel it in her hands, and stepped onto the stair Harry stood on, crouching in close. "What's happening?" she finally asked, when Harry offered no explanation.

"The stairs tend to move in this place," Harry explained, and it was surprisingly good enough. There was no question as to how or why, because he had given her an answer.

The stairs stopped and they continued on their way. Still, their path wasn't unhindered, Harry had decided it wasn't likely that they'd make it halfway across the castle without running into someone. Malfoy wasn't exactly the person that he wanted to meet though.

"Potter," Malfoy hissed the moment he rounded the corner and found himself staring at Harry. The two muscle-bound fools behind him grunted as if it were intimidating.

"Malfoy," Harry said curtly, pulling Christine behind him in a swift movement. "What do you want?"

"I _heard_..." Malfoy said, his eyes wandering to Christine, who was almost completely behind Harry. He twisted his head, blinked and opened his mouth. "...that..." then, words failed. He wasn't staring at her like Ron had stared at her, he was confused about something.

"What is she doing here?" he finally asked, trying to cover up the confusion. "She's a muggle."

"How do you know that?" Harry snapped before talking. She was wearing a robe, and there was nothing obviously muggle about her.

"She... but..." he said. "Potter, where did she come from?" he demanded. "How did she make it into the castle. Weren't you in the Hospital Wing again, Blaise is claiming you didn't even last a minute..."

"You didn't even answer my first question Malfoy, why would I tell you where she came from?"

Crabbe grunted, trying to make Harry scared, Harry wasn't sure if he was trying to growl or he just didn't know what menacing meant. Christine didn't move, just stayed behind Harry silently waiting for his command. Goyle tried to move forward, but Malfoy raised his hand and the thug stopped.

"I'll find out, it doesn't matter. I do have something else, a warning to stay away from the Slytherin girl you hurt before, if I should find out you harmed her again you'll have to deal with more than just Blaise Zabini."

Blaise? Harry wondered. He remembered the Malfoy had just said that he had fought her and lasted less than a minute, which he doubted, he knew he had more skill that _that_. But, Dumbledore had mentioned her too, said she'd brought him in. The headmaster had mentioned the Slytherin girl too, something about kissing her, how would a kiss cause her harm though?

When Harry looked up Malfoy was raising his wand. Christine tensed.

"Don't do it," Harry warned quietly, "I'm seriously not in the mood to play games with you today. If you're interested in knowing what happened, seeing as I have no memory of the past week, ask the headmaster. He might have woken by now, though I doubt it."

Draco stopped mid-spell. "You harmed the headmaster?" he asked, eyes wide.

Harry smiled passively, knowing that was the conclusion Malfoy would make because he was too much like Hermione sometimes. Then, without saying another word, he continued on past the stunned Malfoy.

Even though she didn't ask, Harry knew Christine wanted to know who Malfoy and his thugs had been. He knew it like he knew she'd wanted him to kiss her. "That is one of the bullies of the school. If he ever harms you come directly to me and I'll take care of it."

Christine didn't respond, but he knew she understood.

"How is it that you know about magic? I felt you tense when he raised his wand, and you jumped Hermione when she performed magic on me."

When Christine opened her mouth to answer Harry heard more footsteps and turned around to speak with Malfoy, or so he thought. A large girl was standing there, someone he didn't recognize. Her colors meant she was in Gryffindor, but he was sure he'd never seen her before. How could you miss someone that was nearly a foot taller than most of the older Gryffindors?

"Harry," the girl said sharply and he sighed, realizing who it was.

"What do you want Tonks?" he asked. For some reason he was sure he was mad at her, but he couldn't remember why he would be, well, except that she'd been following him around like a bug for months.

"I wanted to apologize," she said quietly. "For what I did the other day. I shouldn't have slapped you, or tied you to the chair, or yelled at you, or..."

Harry cut her off, not really wanting to hear what else she'd done to him. "Whatever, I don't remember it anyway. I'm sure you had a good reason to do it, I haven't really been myself lately according to Dumbledore. But then, everyone else seems to have begun acting strange around me."

"You don't remember?" Tonks asked, her shape changing before her eyes, becoming the Tonks he knew.

Christine gasped and Tonks' eyes shifted to her, having ignored her for now. She was the first person that had been able to ignore Christine for that long so far. "I thought you were in the Hospital..." she said, after looking Christine over as best as possible. "Why are you out, and who's your friend?"

"Tonks, this is Christine. She's not my friend, she's my..." he trailed off, wondering if he should tell Tonks what she was. It was going to get out sooner or later, but he was hoping it was later, a lot later. After how Hermione had reacted he was pretty sure it would be a better idea not to tell anyone.

"Slave." Christine chimed, answering for him. "I'm his slave now. The Albus man said that I was his slave because he accepted me."

Tonks chuckled. Harry frowned. "Christine," he said softly, turning towards her. "Don't tell everyone, it's something that I'm going to have to be careful about."

When he looked back Tonks wasn't laughing anymore, she looked horrified.

"Slave?" she asked, eyes wide, mouth agape. Harry was reminded of Ron. "You mean, she's really your slave... liked branded and everything? That is what they used to do, brand slaves."

As she asked Christine started to nod, but stopped immediately. Harry sighed. "It's alright Christine, you can tell her, might as well, she'll find out anyway. She's my bodyguard, so I'm sure you two will be seeing a lot of each other, it's best to just get it out of the way now.

Christine seemed happy to be allowed to talk about it and she dropped to her knees, pulling back the robe from her neck. "See, I've been branded."

"A lightning bolt?" Tonks asked, starring at Harry. "Why? I mean, obviously a Lightning Bolt is your _trademark_ _symbol_," she said sarcastically, as if he'd done it himself. It was the first time he'd even seen it, although the letter had said that she was marked he hadn't looked. "But, a slave, master, dominant, submissive and all that, I didn't think you were into that scene."

"I was a gift," Christine prompted, "for Master. A present, because he needed me."

"Needed?" Tonks asked, raising her eyebrow. "You needed a slave Harry... how... kinky."

"You're not offended?"

"Hey," Tonks shrugged, "she seems to into it, not my place to tell her what she can and can't do. I know people that enjoy the feeling of being submissive, or dominant. She's a consenting adult and there's no reason to tell her not to do it. Besides, if she took your mark it means she accepted it."

"You know about marks?" Harry asked, curious as to how much Tonks knew about the subject.

"There are _lots_ of things I know about Harry," she said sensually leaning in closer. "Things even you couldn't imagine, I am after all I am a metamorphmagus, able to do things that only the most unique of situations call for."

"It means she can change her body around like you just saw," Harry explained, when he felt Christine's curiosity rise up.

"I can do all sorts of things," Tonks said, tugging on a strand of hair. It got longer and longer and longer until it was all the way to her feet. She tugged on it again and it slithered its way back up the front of her body until it was as long as it had been before.

When she realized she was getting distracted from what she'd originally meant to say she shook her head. "So everything's alright between us?" she asked. "No hard feelings about leaving you tied to a chair all night?"

"I told you I don't remember," Harry said, a little irritated. "Why would I need to forgive you for something that I don't remember you doing?"

"Well, if you do remember..." Tonks said, quietly. "I want you to know I'm sorry, for everything. You just, when you told me I had her lips I panicked because I know who you were talking about, my mother always said I had gotten my face from my cousin. The only thing I kept when I learned to change my appearance was my lips, I liked those lips because everyone said they were so perfect for me. When you said they were her lips I knew who you were talking about."

"Who I was talking about?" Harry asked. He remembered the flash of lips, thinning, the oh-so-beautiful lips. He stared at her face and could see they had been her lips, because they were fresh and plump again. Had he kissed them? Why were they so appealing? She'd said her cousin. Sirius was her cousin. Harry shook away the thought, he didn't _ever_ think of Sirius' lips as kissable. She had other cousins though, Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.

Why would he lust after either one of their lips? He didn't understand how he could. Narcissa was sour, he'd seen her twice in his life, once before the his fourth year, during the Quidditch World Cup, and the other time was last year during a ministry ball he'd been asked to attend. He had to admit she was a beautiful woman, Bellatrix had been just as beautiful once, before Azkaban had ruined her, but both of them... it seemed so disgusting.

"Why would I like your cousins lips?" Harry inquired. "Did I say?"

"No, you just reached for them," she said, demonstrating. "Then you said that they were her lips and were beautiful."

"They are pretty," Harry said, not feeling comfortable talking to Tonks about her lips. It brought his focus to them, and when he focused on them it was difficult to talk to her.

"Harry," Christine said from behind, tugging softly on his jacket. "More people are coming."

"Tonks, I need to go, Christine doesn't have any clothing other than the cloak she's got on and I think Hermione's going to be on a war path, she didn't take Christine well when she found out."

Tonks grinned. "No easy way out of that one and still be friends."

"Friends?" Harry asked, glancing back at the empty hall. He could hear the footsteps of someone approaching, fast. "I wonder if friends is what we are anymore. She doesn't seem to get on with me much anymore, never has Ron ask me how I'm doing. It's like she doesn't want to talk to me anymore, and then this happens. I wonder if she's beginning to hate me because of what happened two years ago. That when it happened, when he started acting funny around me I didn't even Notice it until almost the end of sixth year, and I sort of missed it, but I've got you following me everywhere anyway, so it's not as if I'm always alone. Plus, there's Christina now."

Tonks nodded. "We can go anywhere you like Harry, but I'm coming. After what happened to you last time you woke up I almost lost the job, so there's no way you're going to go crawling into a dark corner of the castle without me escorting you," Tonks said bravely.

"Fine, whatever," Harry growled, a little angry that she was so insistent. Footsteps clicked just around the corner when Harry opened up the nearest door and walked inside, hoping to avoid the person who was coming down the hallway. Christine entered, followed by Tonks, and they all stood in the broom closet waiting for the person, or people, to go away.

"You know," Tonks said, adjusting herself. The closet wasn't all that big, and she was pressed between Christine and the door. Christine didn't seemed to mind that she'd been shoved between Harry and Tonks, in fact, she was almost wrapped around Harry as it was. "I always wondered if you had a kinkier side, I mean, with all that pent up frustration over everything that happened, you had to be taking it out somewhere, just never could catch you in the act."

"I didn't..." Harry defended himself and then Christine's hands somehow managed to slip down his pants.

He squeaked, there wasn't anything else to do really, he couldn't shove her away, there wasn't nearly enough room. He couldn't exactly yell at her, because the person outside would hear, he could tell her to stop, but the moment it happened she got a good grip on him and began massaging, and he shuddered with pleasure as she nibbled on his ear.

"Wow," Tonks said, looking over at him as his eyes fluttered. "She's really enjoying that. I never could see how it'd be fun to have someone make you do things, but this gets me all hot and bothered just watching."

Harry tried to talk, but all that came out was gasps of air. He didn't care at the moment, didn't care that Tonks was watching, didn't care that there was someone just outside the door, maybe more than one person, didn't care that Hermione had been screaming at him.

"Mark me," Christine whispered in his other ear as she switched sides. She suckled it, nibbling on the lobe and pulling it gently into her mouth. Sensing how urgent it was Harry just nodded and leaned forward, kissing her neck. Her hands were moving faster, massaging, and he gasped as she bit him just hard enough on his ear to bring blood. It was erotic, and more pleasurable than he had imagined. He jerked forward, biting into her only the moment after, not hard, but enough to leave imprints of teeth. Her neck pulsed underneath, the meat raising in his mouth, beating, pulsing as if asking him to bite harder, to bring blood.

When he pulled away, his eyes were unfocused as he recovered from the event. Tonks was mumbling about them being inconsiderate about her feelings. Christine pulled away from Harry, turned to Tonks, pressed her body against the Auror, and kissing her on the lips, effectively shutting up the mumbling. She turned to Harry and looked at him, asking without words again. "It's alright," he mumbled, wondering exactly how much time had passed.

"Maybe we should go now," Harry offered, seeing Tonks start to look uncomfortable.

They all tumbled out of the broom closet after Tonks listened to see if the coast was clear. Harry had to get his headings again before he led them to another staircase taking them down another floor. Tonks had changed her form again into the bratty Gryffindor girl that had been following him around like a devoted fan-girl, as they walked.

"Where we going?" she asked, skipping along ahead. Harry had to grab her twice so that she didn't fall. The Auror was an absolute menace, and not just to herself.

They continued past a group of students, and Luna, who had gained some admirers after the incident two years ago, was in the center of them. Most of them were Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs, all were dressed slightly odd or had a semi-content look on their face. However each of them had a single bottle-cap earring hanging from there left ear, sort of a code to tell them there were others out there.

Luna nodded a hello, but didn't say anything, seeming to know Harry didn't want to talk.

They continued on past her, Christine glancing back at the odd girl wondering if she should go grab her and bring her along because Harry did want to talk to her, he wanted to talk to someone that wouldn't care, someone that was his friend, not Tonks who was assigned to follow him. She glanced to the girl, Tonks, wondering if she'd done the proper thing to the woman in the room. Harry had wanted to do it, even if it was an emotion buried deep down.

Christine shook her head, trying to keep focused, the other man, the one that had given her Harry's mark had helped her see what she really was, he told her that it would help her master discover who he was, and she was charged with that task unless he said different. Because, he didn't know everything that was best for him, the man had told her that he would need someone to help him find it. He'd told her she was that person.

• Edited 2004.12.17 •


	7. Siesta

Note: Beta'd, finally. Actually, the person who offered (codyz) did a great job, and I want to thank him a lot for helping out. Everyone else should too, because he cleaned up my nasty writing a lot more than I was hoping for.

Chapter 07  
• Siesta •

The rest of the trek was uneventful. There were two other groups on the way, a young set of Gryffindors, two of whom waved happily to Harry. They were met with glares from Harry. There was also a small group of Slytherins, who backed against the side of the hall the moment they saw him. Harry wasn't in a particularly good mood, but the Slytherins backing down did make him feel much better.

"You know," Tonks commented after they'd passed the Slytherin fourth years, "I think you putting one of the students in the hospital with just a kiss scared the hell out of them."

Harry wondered why he couldn't remember it. It wasn't something that he would normally do, no matter how badly he would have liked to at times. Maybe he'd just lost his temper, or something had snapped and he'd lost control. Dumbledore had mentioned it, so it must have been important. Dumbledore never mentioned anything that wasn't important.

"I don't remember it," he'd finally admitted, "I don't remember anything about the past few weeks other than brief flashes. I somehow remember Christine, but I don't know how. As far as I know, the first time I met her was when she showed up at the school. She's a muggle and I don't know how else I could have met her."

By the tenseness in Christine's touch, Harry knew that she had something else to say, but he wasn't worried about it at the moment. He was more interested in getting out of the hallway.

They finally came to a stop outside the doorway and Harry knocked before pushing it open. Tonks looked at him with her eyes narrowed, never having entered into the classroom. Harry had, after all, quit taking Divination sixth year, even though he did visit Firenze on occasion. Harry stepped in, feeling the soft, mossy texture of the floor underneath his feet. He flexed the muscles in his feet, letting the soft, damp moss work their ways around his toes. While Madam Pomfrey had kept him in some normal clothing because of the incident last time, he wasn't wearing shoes.

Christine followed him through the doors like a lost puppy, and froze mid step. The door simply appeared in the middle of a forest clearing, a stone arch marked it, but had that arched doorway not been present, you wouldn't have been able to tell you were somewhere other than a forest. Tonks bumped into Christine and Harry had to hold her in order to keep her from falling.

"What a place," Tonks said once she'd righted herself. "I wasn't aware that the castle had a forest in one of the rooms."

"Well, it's not something that's been here for a long time," Harry replied, his eyes searching the room for Firenze. "When Firenze came here during fifth year Dumbledore made some changes to this spare classroom so that he would feel more comfortable teaching."

"And, no matter how comfortable it is, I still find it is not my home," Firenze said, appearing from a group of trees. "It is difficult sometimes, being without my herd. I have all the freedom I want, something I've dreamed of since I was young, and yet I find myself wishing that the stars told me lies instead of truths."

Upon seeing the centaur, Christine had disappeared behind Harry, not sure what she was looking at. "Hello Firenze," Harry said, smiling. "You've left a standing invitation for me to visit during non-teaching hours, and I've decided to take you up on it. I hope you're not busy."

"No, of course not," the centaur responded, smiling brightly. "I would ask that you introduce your friends though, for I have been confused for some time about what the stars have shown me, and suddenly the heavens have cleared."

Harry blinked, not even bothering to try and determine what it was Firenze it was talking about. He'd quit divination for a reason, and he hadn't thought about it since. Even on his previous visits to Firenze, divination had been the last subject on his mind. "Firenze, this is Christine, she is my... companion, it's a little complicated, but she's bound to me."

Firenze nodded, not asking or pushing the subject any further. Harry turned to Tonks. "This is Tonks. I'm surprised you've never met her before, she's been in the castle a lot over the last two years."

"We've met," Tonks interrupted.

From the look in Firenze's face it seemed as though he didn't remember. "I'm sorry... Ms. Tonks, but I don't recall having had the pleasure."

Tonks shook her head and her hair turned from a melted honey to cherry, and her face sharpened until it looked stretched, longer than what it should have been. She stared at Firenze, who wore a look of dawning comprehension. "Yes, one of the two Aurors who spoke with the herd just after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was resurrected. I believe you were trying to convince the herd to aid you in the fight against him. It is a pleasure to see you once again, I am sorry that it is not during more peaceful times."

"I'm really sorry to intrude on you Firenze, I know this is your home too, but I'm having a bit of trouble and would like to stay out of everyone's way for a while." Harry said once the pleasantries had ended. "I promise we won't stay too long, a night at most..."

When Harry looked up to him, instead of staring at the ground, Firenze was looking at the sky above. Harry glanced up and sighed, he was used to the centaurs acting like this, they had nearly every time he'd met one, but he really didn't want to have a reading done at the moment.

"It is odd Harry Potter," Firenze said slowly, as if he were choosing his words carefully, "...the sky as of late. It has told me many things, and yet refuses to give me answers. Saturn and Mercury have not been so bright in many, many years and they continue to brighten. They speak of responsibility and choice, friendship and betrayal, of the craft wiles that men understand little of. Mars dims and brightens with each turn of the moon, speaking of battles that have not yet happened and battles which have."

Finally, Firenze dropped his head to look at Harry's slack face. "The stars say many things, but the Lady Venus is most pleased as of late. She has been waxing stronger in the night sky, held and hidden by clouds. Soon she will reveal herself and all shall be clear."

Trying his best to keep his blank expression, Harry nodded, trying not to dwell on the meaning. He had no understanding of the stars, though he did remember bits and pieces of his class with Firenze. He knew Mars meant many things, and among them was war and battles. However, the only reason he remembered this was because he'd been told in his first year that Mars was bright, which had made sense five years later. It didn't really help them now.

"What about staying?"

"You are welcome here Harry Potter," Firenze said keeping himself from looking up again. "I have shown my loyalties, allied myself against even my own herd so that you may prevail. There are many who rely on you, I shall not be impeded by allowing harm to come to you."

"All right, thanks," Harry said, looking to Christine, who was now staring up at the sky.

"We can stay here tonight if that's alright with you. If we get cold I can conjure a fire or some blankets," he told her.

Christine pulled away from her upward stare and looked at Harry. "As long as you stay I will be fine," she said, looking at Tonks who had just slipped on the moss and fallen on her butt. "Will she be staying as well?"

"As well?" Harry mumbled, but pushed the thought away for a minute, intent on bringing it up later. He glanced to Tonks, who was gripping a small tree, trying to pull herself to her feet. A few branches caught her hair and yanked on it as Tonks finally stood, causing her to yelp.

He smiled. "Probably. She's my bodyguard and already said she wasn't going to leave me alone. It means that I'm probably stuck with her everywhere I go."

"She is quite loyal to you then." Christine commented. Harry shrugged, there was a difference between loyalty and whatever it was Tonks was displaying, and he really didn't care to comment on how angry it made him that Tonks was more like a babysitter than a bodyguard. "I'm sorry," Christine said suddenly. "I didn't realize she causes you such grief."

Harry pulled away, not really liking that Christine could sense his emotions when she was touching him. It made it hard to lie to her, and he didn't want her to see how bad the world was, especially since it was her first day in the magical world.

It was only after he pulled away that he remembered Christine couldn't see magic when he wasn't touching her. He wondered why it was; after all, his aunt and uncle certainly could see magic. He'd heard them yelling about it so many times before that he was beginning to think that all muggles disliked magic and probably saw it more than they knew, but were afraid to admit it.

Sobs racked Christine's body, and it was obvious she was trying to keep from crying. Harry reached out and touched her again and the sobs stopped. "Why can't I see them?" Christine asked. "When I'm all alone, why can't I see the stars and the forest, and the castle?"

Tonks piped in right then. "Well there's a long history to Hogwarts, and it hasn't always been like this. Way back when there were witch burning and stuff it was decided that hiding magic would be the best option. Hogwarts had magic put up that could keep non-magical people from being able to see the school. Whenever muggles, the term we use for non-magical humans, look at the castle, should they ever make it that far, all they see are the crumbling ruins of a castle. Why you can see it when Harry touches you is a particularly odd thing, but I'm sure that Albus would be able to figure it out if we all went back and talked to him about it."

"I don't like Albus," Christine confessed quickly. "He didn't want Harry to have me, he didn't like me at all."

Tonks didn't reply immediately. She started off towards a patch of trees directly across from where Firenze had disappeared to, while Christine was talking. "We could camp just beyond there," Tonks said. "Since Harry's not planning on going back to Albus, that means I'll be staying as well. At least there it'll keep us from the view of anyone who decides to check this room. I don't fancy talking to anyone at the moment either.

Harry followed along quietly. Thinking about Christine, generating question after question in his head. He tried not to think hard about them, because Christine would probably pick up on his thoughts, but he couldn't do it very well.

As they lay out the blanket that Tonks had conjured (Harry told her he refused to allow a mattress because it would be an insult to Firenze) Harry finally let it out. "Christine," he said, making sure to keep his foot touching her as he straightened the blanket. "Who sent you to me?"

Tonks stopped complaining, looking eager to hear the answer. She conjured some pillows and laid them out for Harry and Christine. She didn't seem to have a problem sitting on the ground. Christine turned to view at Harry, looking confused. "You did," she said quietly. She remembered the flashes, flashes of everything that had happened. Some of it wasn't very clear, but she did remember staring at him, and the way he had marked her. It had been him even if it was not him. She didn't understand how there could be a difference so great and a similarity so close. But then, she also remembered being spoken to, and she wondered, if because there was magic, that maybe there were two of her masters, and one of them was trying to help himself be a better person. That would explain why he'd given her such specific instructions.

"You sent yourself a slave Harry?" Tonks teased. "You're getting yourself into worse more trouble every time you ask a question, I can already tell. I think it might be best if we just avoid talking about slaves and what they're suppose to do for you tonight. Maybe it'd be best to find a more appropriate subject, like to explain magic to Christine, I have a feeling she hasn't ever seen it before."

Christine flushed slightly at the remark. "I've heard of magic," she replied, looking towards Harry, asking for his permission before continuing. Harry nodded hesitantly, he was having a hard time getting over the fact that she looked to him for nearly every decision she'd made over the past hour, and it wasn't something he felt capable of doing, keeping someone from making the wrong decision. "But I've never dreamed it was real, or that it was so beautiful."

"It's not all beautiful," Tonks replied immediately. "Sure the castle is lovely, and the forest here is wonderful, but there are bad things in the world as well as good things. That's why I'm around, to keep Harry out of trouble. There are people that want to kill him."

"Kill?" Christine questioned, turning back to Harry and staring. "But why would someone want to kill you? You're the most wonderful person I've met in years."

"You can't have met that many good people then," Harry said quietly.

Tonks smirked. "Harry's famous in the magical world, one of the most famous people since Merlin."

"Merlin was real?" Christine asked, gaping. She didn't even look at Harry now, and he was happy that she was showing that she had some sort of independence; he really didn't want to have to seek his approval every moment of the day.

"Yes he was," Tonks said. "Just as real as dragons are."

From that moment on Christine and Tonks were chatting like old friends. Harry watched, feeling rather tired, as they conversed and conversed and conversed. It was more than a little boring; even though he learned a lot of things even he didn't know. Apparently Aurors were trained to speak with muggles, or Tonks had done it before, because she was able to help Christine identity similar things that were done with magic instead of technology and then point out all sorts of things that magic had, that muggles didn't.

Flying brooms came up, and Harry's name was mentioned again, but he ignored it altogether, not really worrying about how much Christine found out. It was probably better to figure things out now, before she had to face it herself, that way she could ask questions now and not stand out later. The last thing he wanted was people knowing he had a muggle slave following him around. It'd hit the papers like wildfire, plus the fact that Voldemort would find it increasingly despicable, maybe even try to kill her as an example for Harry.

He thought about Voldemort for a minute, trying not to imagine what the snake-like man was doing. Probably planning an attack on some poor, helpless wizarding family. He'd been doing a lot of that lately, and his ranks had swelled considerably, already having more Death Eaters than he had last time. It seemed that the time he spent in the forest had been good for him, and bad for everyone else who was going to be in his path of his domination.

Harry sighed, knowing that he was one of those people, and all because of some stupid prophecy that had been made even before he was born. With a sign, Harry leaned back on his back, looking up at the stars. His bare foot was still resting on Christine's thigh, so that the contact could keep her seeing the truth around them instead of the muggle repelling charm that had been put up.

The air in the forest was warm, brought in by a gentle breeze that tickled the senses. Harry was sure it wasn't quite as warm outside, because it was still the early part of the year, but he was happy to enjoy the warmth anyway. He unbuttoned his shirt and let the warm breeze touch his skin.

An hour later Tonks was fast asleep, but Harry was still staring at the stars, thinking. "Christine," he said softly, feeling her slide along the ground to lie next to him. She had been quiet for almost twenty minutes, and now that Tonks was snoring softly she had finally decided to move up next to Harry.

"Yes?" she asked immediately.

"Where was it you were, before this happened to you? You said I sent you here, but I never left this castle as far as I know. Tonks would have known, because she is always within a few steps of me."

"A dark place," she said calmly. "You rescued me from there. You were different, but I can see it was you. Your eyes are the same, and you felt the same when you touched me. You say magic is real, and I've seen it, maybe you did it with magic."

Harry had already considered the possibility, he'd been thinking about it for a long time, so he pushed it away. "What dark place?" he asked. "How was it you got there?"

The skin that was pressed against him rose, and he could feel her trembling. "I'm sorry," he said immediately, turning towards her. In the pale moonlight he could see that she was crying silently. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"No," she sniffed, brushing away the tears. "It's alright, you have the right since you don't remember when I told you before. You saved me, and you deserve the story."

Harry sighed, hating himself for making her cry. He could feel the emotion building up inside him, and knew they were Christine's. It hurt him to know that he was hurting her, especially since she was his responsibility. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be a father. Even though Christine wasn't his child, he felt responsible for her.

"I was in a stone room that smelled like dead things. It was cold and damp, and I was there for a very long time."

Harry knew exactly what she was talking about, probably a dungeon in some old castle or home. She had to have been there for a reason though, and he had to have found her for a reason, because it seemed as if he'd sent her. But why mark her as a slave? Why send her to him, in a place where she would be lost without his touch? Why hadn't he just freed her and send her back to her home?

"Before that," Harry said when she didn't continue. "What happened before that, where did you come from. Surely you must have had family?"

He stopped himself too late, because he felt her shift uncomfortably, pull away so fast that she gasped when the forest faded. She almost seemed to debate touching him again, as If it might not be something she wanted to do. Harry was staring at her, frozen and unable to decide what to say next.

They stayed like that for almost three minutes, before she finally reached out and wrapped her arm around his, pulling in tightly. Harry didn't say anything and he hoped that she would just ignore him, that she would simply fall asleep next to him, holding him like that. It was sort of nice now, being her rock that she kept balanced on. He wished he had one, every time he seemed to find one in his life things changed and they died or he lost respect for them.

"My family..." Christine said, her voice cracking. "They hated me. I was never good enough, because I never saw things the same way that they saw them. When I was old enough I wanted to get out, wanted to go to college and study a profession. They didn't like the professions I chose, I wasn't allowed to take on a career that was traditionally filled with males. So, I left, they told me if I left I couldn't come back, and I didn't. I think Chandi misses me, but I don't think I'll ever see her again. She's my little sister and I miss her, but I can't go back."

"Your family was well off, weren't they?" Harry asked quietly, noticing the odd way she pronounced things, "The family you lived with, they were really well off."

From the way that Christine cuddled closer he guessed that he was right. He wasn't sure why they had such a hard time with Christine, he'd only known her for a few hours and already found she was not the sort of person that was difficult to get along with. But that was likely because of the power that he had over her. Still, he couldn't imagine another family like the Dursleys who hated her even though she wasn't magical, but only because she was different.

He pulled her gently closer until her head was buried in his chest and she was breathing calmly again. He stared at the stars, watching for a shooting star so that he could reset his life and start again, maybe find Christine early on so that she didn't have so many trouble with her parents. It was sad that she couldn't speak with her sister Chandi. He was pretty sure he understood the feeling, even though he couldn't talk to Sirius or his parents again for different reasons.

"My family hates me too," he assured her as she was edging off to sleep. "Because I'm different. My mother died because a dark wizard felt that I was a threat and wanted to kill me before I became strong enough to kill him. My dad wouldn't let him go and he died, and then my mother put a protection spell on me before she died. That's the only reason I'm alive. Sometimes, sometimes I wish she hadn't done it because then I wouldn't have had to deal with life without them. I have no family anymore, because the family I did have was killed when I was lured into going somewhere I shouldn't have. After that, I really had nothing to live for except my friends, and now my friends are turning against me."

"I'm sorry," Christine whispered. It sounded as if she were on the edge of sleep, and Harry didn't respond except to pull her just a tiny bit closer than she'd been. She had been his friend for six hours, and his slave, and he was feeling more comfortable talking to her than he had with anyone in his life. Maybe it was because he knew she couldn't betray him, she was like a house-elf, and existed to serve. Even if the only thing she did was help him get out his feelings, it could be a good thing.

• Edited 2004.12.22 •


	8. Exchanging Blows

Note: Beta'd finally! Thanks Codyz

Chapter 08  
• Exchanging Blows •

When the sun rose, Harry was still staring at the stars. His eyes weren't open completely, but he wasn't asleep either. Tonks was the one that woke him. She looked as if she'd just slept under a bush. Harry had heard her rolling around in the night, but had no idea that she would end up looking so bad.

"You awake?" he asked, seeing the dazed look on her face.

She growled, literally growled. Christine woke to the noise, snuggling into Harry tighter before opening her eyes. "Master," she said the moment she woke up. "Do you need me to do anything for you this morning?"

Harry felt a little bit of anticipation at the thought, not sure how he wanted to answer.

Tonks snickered, and her voice sounded rough, as if she'd lost some of the moisture in her throat. She choked on something and then spit out whatever it was. "It's alright," she said finally, "I usually have something in my throat in the morning, one of the side effects of being a metamorphmagus."

Harry grinned and helped Christine to her feet a moment later. He buttoned his shirt, feeling the light nip of the morning breeze in the forest. "We need to go eat," Tonks said, combing her hands through her hair, only to get them entangled."You know, this is not going to go over well with Dumbledore," she added, opening the door in the stone archway.

"It's not my fault," Harry said, defending himself. "I didn't choose this, maybe some weird clone or something did, but it wasn't me. Everything that's happened hasn't been something that I really had much of a choice in. I didn't tell me to send myself a slave. I didn't tell Hermione to attack me. I didn't even know I was accepting her until after everything happened. It's not as if I've yet to have a single chance to tray and make it up."

They stepped out of the hallways and into the corridor that led to the great hall. Tonks said something bad and Harry just squared his shoulders, trying not to care about what was happening. It was difficult, he'd always had problems when dealing with everyone abandoning him, probably because he'd never had many people support him continually in his life.

"You know," Tonks said in a fierce whisper. "We should have just conjured a bed, it would have led to a lot less speculation about what we did all night.

Harry glanced at her, and then ran his hands through his hair. He didn't have any twigs in his hair at all. He was a little surprised, since he was lying on the ground, close to Tonks. His hair was a bit windswept, and a little difficult to keep smooth, but then, his hair was always a little messy.

Christine leaned forward as he stopped, his hands still stuck in his hair. "You look wonderful," she whispered in his ear. "You always look wonderful."

Harry couldn't help but grin, even though Christine hadn't know him very long, she was helping build his confidence already. At least when dealing with a mob of Hogwarts students, he already had confidence to stand up to Voldemort, but Voldemort wasn't as scary as a room filled with almost a thousand kids his age.

"I think," Harry said, feeling his confidence again, "you've just got a problem sleeping on the ground. It's not my fault, I didn't tell you not to get a mattress, and you were the one that was following me around."

Someone whispered something nearby, one of the Ravenclaws, and Harry looked at them, but only got a glare back. He wasn't sure if they were doing it because they were trying to look him in the eye, or if it was because they were mad at him for some reason. He didn't know the boy though, and so it didn't bother him that much.

"I'm going to go speak with the headmaster about what happened," Tonks said snappishly and there were more whispers. Instead of Harry looking to them he ignored them altogether this time while Christine followed behind him obediently, not even looking up. She was a little scared too, and Harry thought it might be because of the mass of the hall, it was impossible to even conceive of so many people going to the school by just walking through the hallways. Christine had probably seen less than twenty and now she was standing before hundreds upon hundreds.

"Fine," Harry snapped as Tonks turned away to hear towards the front, "but just remember it was your decision, not mine."

Sitting down at the Gryffindor table got more than a few whispers. Harry noticed that his usual seat with Ron and Hermione had been left open, but Ron and Hermione weren't there. So, he sat Christine down at the table and sat down himself, staring across the table to see a confused Ginny Weasley. Seeing as she'd always been a friend, and never once tried to make a move on Harry, he smiled and was glad to have at least one friend. She smiled back.

"Ginny, this is Christine," he said, just loud enough that it quieted the whispers so that those around him could hear her name. It wasn't everyday that a new girl just showed up at the school out of nowhere.

"It's not..." she said tentatively, glancing at Tonks, who was marching along the table snapping at people that were in her way. "That's her, right?"

Harry nodded. A few of his closer friends had known Tonks was assigned as his bodyguard, but since she was always changing forms it was difficult to determine who she was sometimes. Someone, not taking the snapping well, stuck their foot out and Tonks tripped, cursing as she did. It was a sight, watching three Slytherin's suddenly turning into miniature versions of themselves, toy sized, with a single curse. They squeaked foul words at her, but she ignored them again, continuing forward.

"So, where'd she come from?" Ginny asked, looking up and down at Christine. "She doesn't look like a student, too old."

"I'm only nineteen," Christine said weakly. Harry pulled her close, into a sort of hug, and ran his hand along her back, comforting her.

He glanced down the table, watching as several students retracted their craning heads and focused on the meal in front of them. "It's a long, long story," he said, tired. He hadn't gotten any sleep and was sure that his eyes were more than a little bloodshot. "And, without someone to back it up, it might not sound very realistic."

Ginny nodded finally, accepting the answer, but that was only for the time being. Harry was pretty sure that she would bring it up later, when not so many people were around. She glanced up and shifted her body slightly, looking at someone behind Harry. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was some sort of signal. He glanced back, but couldn't see anyone he knew of that Ginny talked to regularly. Luna was further down the table, speaking to some others as if Harry had never existed in the first place. Ron and Hermione were still not present.

Shrugging it off, Harry explained very quietly how to get food and Christine nodded, but in the end she ended up feeding herself from his plate, which Harry didn't find that odd. After all, Ron was great at it, especially when everything had disappeared before he was finished eating. It did cause more whispers, and a lot of jealous looks. Harry was sure several of the girls were envious of Christine, even though they had no idea what her situation was. The problem was that none of them had ever come and talked to him about it, and he wasn't very good around girls, so none of them had ever been even considered for a girlfriend.

The fluttering of wings caused Christine to look up and gasp, forgetting any thoughts of food. "Why are there so many owls?" she whispered, after some of them had landed.

"They're post," Harry explained, glancing up at Ginny, who was watching with interest. "The way that the magical world communicates."

Hedwig landed on Harry's shoulder, holding something that was considerably larger than any letter. A small box had been attached between her legs, and it was a little heavy.

Harry untied it carefully, stroking Hedwig. "Christine," he said quietly, "this is Hedwig, my owl. She's the most faithful friend I've ever had, though she does get mad at me occasionally."

After nipping playfully at Harry, Hedwig let Christine stroke her softly. Christine did it with the most careful touch, almost as if she wasn't sure if she'd break the owl.

Once Harry had gotten the package off he was astounded to find that the scrolling script on the top of the box wasn't addressed to him, rather to Christine. Harry stared at it for a second, wondering if he should be the one to open it. It had been delivered to him, and he was Christine's master, she was property, so anything that was hers belonged to him. He successfully shoved the thought aside and handed the package to her.

"It's yours, you open it," Harry said, sliding it in front of her.

"Harry!" someone shouted, catching his attention. "Who's the new girl, and why weren't you in the Gryffindor common room last night?"

Harry turned to look down the table, trying to see who it was. He recognized the voice, but couldn't seem to place it that well. Jared Serp, a 6th year Gryffindor who'd transferred in last year from an American school. He hadn't liked Harry much, but he hadn't brought it out into the open.

"Slept somewhere else," Harry replied truthfully, not really caring what the jerk was implying.

"With two different girls?" Someone else asked, this time it was a Hufflepuff, who was staring at him curiously. Harry glanced up at Tonks, who was talking in fervent whispers to the headmaster. Dumbledore was frowning, but he didn't seem mad at all.

"Not really," he finally said, looking back at the Hufflepuff.

"So you didn't get much sleep then?" Serp asked, making his comment callous, as though he were trying to hurt Harry or make him embarrassed.

Harry thought for a minute, but stopped thinking of a response when he heard Ginny gasp. He swiveled in his seat, just in time to see Christine snap on some sort of collar. It brightened, shining brightly enough so that no one who wasn't blind could have missed it. "What are you doing?" he hissed, seeing her reverently putting on some sort of wrist things that matched the collar. He tried to reach out, but he froze when he noticed the collar seemed to be melting into her body, as if it were accepting or becoming a part of her. A small circle opened in the back, keeping the lightning crest visible, and Harry could see the jewelry that had been having like frills was now coming directly out of a black layer of skin that looked like a tattoo. The other wrist snapped closed and Harry watched in awe as they did the same thing, melting into her arms and making intricate patterns up and down her arms. The looked like some sort of elbow length glove without the fingers in it, a single strain met in the center of her hand between her fingers, where it looped around, an obvious way of holding it in place.

"What was that for?" Harry hissed, watching the metal hoop bounced on her wrists as if it belonged there.

"It said to," she replied immediately, looking as if she were about to cry. Harry wrapped his arm around her and tried comforting her, but was in some serious need of comforting himself, so he wasn't sure how much he'd help her.

It was then that he heard Hermione, for the first time since she'd attacked him. She was standing in the doorway of the great hall, staring with wide eyes. 'Why you little bastard Harry," she screamed, "enslaving a poor, innocent girl to do your every whim."

Harry glanced around and watched as the other people in the castle stared at him blankly, as if waiting for a response. He didn't have one, at least not a good one that could be brought up in the middle of the great hall. Had he and Hermione been in a room together he was pretty sure he would have been yelling right alongside her.

A look towards the teachers table showed that four of them were gone, including Tonks and Dumbledore. It was something went right alongside everything else that had been going on in his life lately, never someone else there when he needed them.

"Hermione," Harry said slowly, "let's discuss this somewhere else."

"We can discuss this right here," she snarled. "You are such a pig for doing something so cruel. I can't believe that I _liked_ you."

"It wasn't my choice," Harry said, trying to stay calm.

"And I suppose that you've given her a collar and gauntlets just because you think they look good on her."

Harry turned to look at Christine, who was staring angrily at Hermione. "Why did you put them on?" he asked, tired of hearing it from Hermione. "Why didn't you ask first so that we could discuss them."

"The letter said that they were for me to wear," Christine said sadly, she acted as if she'd been whipped.

"Oh yes, go make her cry now," Hermione snapped immediately.

"I... didn't, I mean..." Harry stuttered. "You're causing this," he said finally. "You're the one that's making this happen. Everything was fine until you came marching in here screaming at me."

Glancing towards Ron, he could see his best friend was having difficulties deciding which side to take. It was obvious that he wanted to step in, but he probably didn't have anything to say that would calm Hermione down. Ron did do something finally, stepping up to put his hand on Hermione's shoulder. He started to say something when Ginny stood up across the table.

"Harry has got the right to do anything he wants," Ginny snapped. "You cannot just tell him he's wrong for being into something you don't believe in. Look at her," she said, pointing to Christine. "She _likes _being his slave, I could tell from the moment I realized it. She enjoys the position, letting someone else control her. She's just like those elves you terrorize, trying to free. They won't even come clean the Gryffindor common room anymore because of those clothes you leave lying around everywhere. Dobby's the one that has to do it all."

Hermione looked aghast, as if she'd just been slapped in the face.

"I understand that you may not enjoy the fact that Harry has a different sexual point of view than you do, but there's nothing wrong with it."

"You don't understand," Hermione snapped at her, ignoring Harry for a moment. "He's got a _slave._ It's not just a different way of life."

"Yes it is!" Ginny shouted. "What if I were to tell you that I liked girls, that I'd given up on men? How would you react?"

A disgusted look flashed over Hermione's face. "You're just saying that," she said loudly. "You're not a lesbian. We're best friends, and I know you're not into girls."

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think!" Ginny shouted. "I hadn't planned on telling anyone at all, but I think maybe it'd be better to let the whole world know now."

Harry opened his mouth, then closed it, he opened it again and choked on his words, unsure what to say.

Ron stepped forward, standing next to Hermione, his tall lanky figure dwarfing her. "You're lying!" he shouted at Ginny. "My sister is not a dyke."

"You're wrong!" Ginny shouted. "I've had a girlfriend for several months now, and I decided that I like girls a whole lot more than I like guys!"

"Ron," Harry said, stepping between Ginny and her brother. "Calm down,' he said quietly, trying to alleviated the situation that was coming up. Around them the Gryffindors were getting restless, and the rest of the school hadn't missed the conversation unless they'd gone completely deaf.

"You're taking her side in this?" Ron screamed, trying to shove Harry out of the way.

"I can't really help it," Harry said. "She's only saying it because of what's happened to me. I don't think that it's good to go against her. And besides, she's old enough to make her own decisions now, it's not like you're in control of her life. She's your sister, not you daughter."

"Oh, and what would you know about family?" Ron spat at Harry.

Harry stared, suddenly feeling angrier than he'd been in a long, long time. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Hermione frozen, staring hard at him. "More than you would!" he yelled back. "At least I try to get along with the family I have. You don't even do that, you just fight with everyone. You don't understand how good it is to have a mother, and brothers. Even if one of them is a total prat and more interested in success than the truth."

"Don't talk about my brother like that!" Ron yelled back, his face turning red. "He's just doing what he needs to do to get ahead."

"Is that it?" Harry asked, his voice deathly quiet. His whole posture had changed just enough that he could reach for his wand quickly. "You're family's interested in making money instead of staying true friends? Is that the problem Ron, money?

"You wouldn't know," Ron snarled. "You don't know anything about wondering if you're going to eat because your mother doesn't have enough money for food."

"How about being starved?" Harry asked. "Living in a closet until I turned 11? And it's not because I did something wrong, it's because my cousin did something wrong and they wouldn't believe it was his fault. When I did something that conflicted with their views on life, they'd lock the door and not let me eat at all. My family hated me with a passion; nothing I did was right.

"So you just get a slave to make it all better?" Ron asked. "Someone you can force to do anything you want? Next thing we'll hear is that Malfoy is a poof and running around with Justin Finch-Fletchley."

"Hey!" Justin yelled from further down the next table. Justin, who was a well known homosexual now, still very much resented the Slytherins, and to tell him that Malfoy might be his boyfriend or lover was an insult, a major insult.

Someone shouted something else and a large piece of a half-eaten roll hit Ron in the back of the head. It was like lighting a gas can on fire, Ron exploded. He whipped his wand out and sent three half-full plates of food flying in the direction that the roll had come from followed by a particularly nasty curse.

In under a minute food and curses were flying every direction. Harry watched, transfixed as it happened. It was the Gryffindors first mostly. The curses must have struck someone, because several curses came flying from the Slytherin table. Of course, Harry didn't get struck, the Slytherins that had throw the curses weren't that great at aiming, but there were several people nearby that did. When that happened there were curses returned from the Gryffindor, many of them hidden by the food that was also flying towards the Slytherins.

A Ravenclaw was hit, someone who'd been making a stand against the Slytherins, and everything just sort of went downhill from there. Glancing at Christine, who was watching the show as if it were some sort of playful color-show, he heaved a long sigh he switched hands with his wand and started to pull her down to keep her away from the hexes that were being thrown. A few people were already on the floor, melted to it like a puddle of mud.

Something shimmered, and a stray curse was sent spinning away from Christine. Harry grabbed her with both hands and roughly yanked her under the table, as surprised as he could have been that she'd managed to repel the curse. He stared at her and she looked back as if nothing had happened. She might not have even noticed it happening, since there hadn't been much to it, other than a tiny shiver of light where the curse had struck. She did however try and apologize once she realized Harry was a little disturbed, but she had no idea why and it was difficult to keep her from crying.

"I think it might be time to leave," Harry told her, looking out to the battlefield above. It was a battlefield, there was no mistaking it, and Harry was sure he had been the reason for it. "Just keep a hold of my hand so that I don't lose you," he instructed Christine as he readied himself to stand up.

They stood, and Harry was immediately pelted with several pieces of bacon. "Come on," he said, pushing through the people that were yelling at each other. He saw several people give him scathing looks before turning their wands on someone else. The whole room was a riot. It looked as if the Slytherins had seen it coming, and they'd cursed half the Hufflepuffs before anyone had realized what was happening. The Ravenclaws were sending spells at the Slytherins and a few of the Gryffindors as well, they cut through the food, sometimes blowing up that food and coating everyone nearby. Most of the Gryffindors were dueling with the Slytherins too, and Harry could tell that if the battle was going to keep going it would be the Slytherins that lost, simply because of the sheer number of people fighting them.

There was a mad rush towards the doorway, as if a hundred or so people realized that they weren't going to get off easy for what was happening. Everyone present when the teachers returned were likely to get detentions.

Someone grabbed Harry from behind, slipping their arm around his, while another person slipped their arm through Christine's. Harry glanced up to see Ginny holding his arm, smiling brightly, while Blaise Zabini had a hold of Christine's arm.

"Follow me," Ginny said quickly. Harry just nodded, unsure how to respond to the help she was offering. He wondered why Blaise was with her, and then it dawned on him who Blaise might be.

"Her?" he asked incredulously, staring at Blaise as they moved down the hallways.

Ginny smiled wickedly. "Well, it had to be someone, didn't it?"

"But... I mean..."

"Potter shut up, we'll discuss this when we're all safely away from trouble." Blaise snapped.

Harry almost laughed, it was difficult to see how Blaise and Ginny kept from killing each other, let alone be in a relationship.

They were at the entrance to the Slytherin common room within a few minutes. Harry stared, unsure how to react to it. He knew that they weren't going to the Gryffindor common room, and he hadn't really thought about it while they walked. Now that they were standing outside the door Harry didn't know what to do.

"You've been here before?" Blaise asked, surprised.

Harry looked up at her and shook his head, too quickly.

Blaise smirked. "Potter, you stopped in front of the door as if you knew exactly where it was, don't try and play coy."

Looking around, and determining they were alone, Harry sighed. "Yes, I've been here before," he admitted.

"Good," Blaise said, "then I won't worry about showing you around." She turned to the wall. "Grindelwald," she said and the door opened in the wall.

They entered into the dark room, and it seemed especially lonely. The high-backed chairs sat empty, majestic. The fire flickered eerily, throwing shadows all about the room. "You have been here before," Blaise said, taking the lead now, heading across the common room at a quick pace.

"We're going into the dorms, so you're not sitting out when Snape comes stomping into the common room berating us for allowing the fight to go on in the Great Hall."

There wasn't a stairwell to the girls dorms, rather a path that led away from the main room. Harry walked down it and suddenly found himself at the start of it again, while none of the other girls moved at all.

"Blaise?" he said, knowing that it was some preventative measure to keep out boys from entering into the girls dorms.

"Honestly Potter," she said, waving her wand. "It just takes a strong confusion charm, and there won't be any problem. Now, come on, before the other brats show up and see you."

Harry just took her word for it and quietly stepped forward; glad to see it didn't resist him entering this time.

The hallway they entered was long and bare, a few torches stood out from the walls, but it was otherwise empty. Even during the day, as early as it was, there was no light other than the flickering glow of the torches.

"Step quickly Potter," Blaise snapped as he slowed, trying to read one of the signs on the doors. They passed six in all, and at the very end Blaise opened one, ushering them in. "It's not completely private," she said as Harry looked around, "but it'll keep you safe for now. I just have to use a few of my debts to keep the girls from talking."

"I'm... sorry?" Harry offered, not sure how to take the words. She didn't sound angry or happy about it. Her words lacked all emotion.

Christine was let go, and she looked around again, staring at the walls. "They didn't change," she said to Harry. "No one is touching me and I can see them."

Blaise turned towards Harry, a gleam of interest in her eye.

"She's a muggle, alright," he said, not really wanting to deal with the questions that were soon to come out. "Someone sent her to me yesterday. Apparently it was me, though I have to say that I don't believe that. However, until just now she couldn't see anything unless I was touching her. It has something to do with the way the wards are set up."

"Alright then," Blaise said, staring at Christine with renewed interest. "You've got yourself a Muggle Slave. She's been bound to you I trust? Some sort of ancient ritual that made sure she's allowed into the castle? She wouldn't have made it this far otherwise... But, until just recently she hasn't been able to see the castle as it is unless you were touching her. What about someone else magical?"

Harry wasn't sure, but Christine shook her head. "It only changes when my Master touching me."

"Please don't call me that," Harry asked in a pleading tone. "I've really got enough on my plate as it is, I don't want to be called Master. Harry works just fine."

"Yes Harry," Christine said, being sure to say his name properly.

Ginny snickered from the side. Harry looked up at her. "Since when did you start dating women?" he snapped, a little irritated. "And why didn't you bring it up earlier, some time other than when it would cause a full-on riot?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," Ginny growled. She didn't seem anything like the blushing Ginny he'd once known. He sort of missed her now, and wondered if it had been Blaise or the DA that had brought the change in her. She had gained a lot of confidence while training in the DA, but Harry was pretty sure she hadn't gained her smart-ass attitude from it.

"Potter, any more comments like that and you'll be staring at the ceiling of the medical wing for an extended period of time. It was Ginny's idea to try and save you from Hermione and it was Ginny's idea to bring you here, the last place that anyone will look for you. The only reason I allowed it was because you defended Ginny in front of everyone, and that means something, though, right now it seems it was just for show." Blaise said, growling the last few words.

"No," Harry revealed quietly. "I really don't think there's anything wrong with it, I'm just having a really bad few days right now and it doesn't help that I'm having to explain Christine again. I really don't know much about her yet. I had just woken up from the infirmary a few minutes before she showed up. I can't remember the last couple of weeks, and I'm sure Tonks would have known if I somehow managed to get off campus to find myself a slave."

"You're really caught up in that, aren't you?" Blaise asked. "I think maybe you should just get over it, accept that she came to you and there's nothing you can do about it. It doesn't really matter if you sent her to you or not, she's yours, right?"

"Yeah, she's bonded to me. Some odd ritual makes her a true slave, she's my property and has no right other than the one's I allow her." Christine smiled and nodded, not making Harry feel any happier.

Blaise finally moved away from her standing position and found a bed near the end. All of the beds in the room where walled off, not completely, but enough to give them some privacy, very different from the Gryffindor dorms. But then, Harry had never been in the female dorms, it was possible that they looked very much the same.

It was Ginny who followed next, finding a place next to Blaise, and not looking at all uncomfortable. Harry wondered how many times Ginny had been to the Slytherin common room, and how she and Blaise had kept their relationship a secret. What sort of Slytherin would keep such interesting information to themselves?

"You know Potter, if you just stand there you're likely to be seen. It'd be best if I didn't have to use _all_ my debts keeping you from being caught.

The door banged open before Harry could move. Three Slytherin girls, including one that looked oddly familiar entered. The familiar girl froze mid-stride, as Harry began to turn. Then, she did something that surprised everyone in the room. She fell to her knees.

• Edited 2004.12.22 •


	9. Servant of Voldemort

Note: http: groups. yahoo. com/group/Mehetabelos/ is my new group (you gotta remove the spaces and add two /'s cause ff. net are jerks). For those of you too lazy, it's also posted on my profile once it cycles through (later tonight or tomorrow). Apparently a few of you wanted me to start one so there it is. Second, the girl Harry gave the 'Black Kiss' (the kiss that drained her) was not Veranda, she's a sixth year girl Harry will meet soon enough, just not yet.

Uten: Thanks for reviewing, I'm starting to really look forward to them. It's great that you figured out how Christine can see magic now. I was wondering how many people would figure it out. I'm trying to keep the trio true to form while I break them up, and it's proving to be difficult and easy at the same time, which is sort of confusingI think. Hopefully it'll make more sense when Harry tries to return to the Gryffindor common room.

LT2000: Another good reviewer, I want to thank you personally for them. Harry's going to have a lot of on-and-off relationships. Pretty much Voldemort's mind-warping is going to turn him into a pimp, in a good way. Though, the idea of having Harry giving Hermione one of those black kisses is delicious, I'm not sure ifI can do that at the moment. Maybe when Harry's turneda little more to the darkside. Til then, I'm not sure.

Jon3776: I'm interested in knowing what you think of the story so far. I'm working on getting Bellatrix in again, but Harry's going to have to be more 'ready' for her.

* * *

Chapter 09  
• Servant of Voldemort •

"My Lord," she said quietly as if begging him to respond. Harry stared, flabbergasted, sure that he didn't know the girl at all. "My Lord," she repeated again, waiting.

Deciding it was best to just respond and find out what was going on, Harry spoke. "Yes?" he asked, hoping she might give away right away why she was calling him her lord.

"I did not know..." she said, her tone shaky. "I did not know you would be coming here. You should have informed me so that I might greet you properly."

Harry blinked, watching the girl look at him with awe. It was as if he were shining so bright that she couldn't see anything but his face above her. She was a tall girl, taller than him by several inches. Her hair was considerably short, much shorter than most of the other girls he'd seen at Hogwarts. It didn't look bad on her though, it just brought the focus to her sharp face. Her eyes were pale brown, but they were sharp, the sort of eyes that he'd hate a teacher to have. She wasn't that curvy, but she had some. Altogether, though a little severe looking, she didn't look bad.

One of the other two girls snickered, but the familiar looking girl had her hand wrapped around her leg, and had yanked it out of underneath her, causing her to fall as well. "Don't you dare laugh in his presence," she hissed venomously. "He'll kill you where you stand."

"I'm sorry?" Harry said, not sure if he wanted to let whatever dream the girl was having continue. "I think you have the wrong person."

"No my Lord," the girl said, repeating the name, as if she showed a great amount of respect. "I could not mistake your presence. If you ask it I would see you as you are and nothing more... but I could not deny it in my heart."

It was as if the girl were trying to draw attention to him. Harry glanced at the third girl, who'd not said anything since she entered. She was another 7th year that he didn't know. He was surprised at how many Slytherins there were this year that he didn't recall having seen. "Just don't call me lord." Harry sighed. "I don't need more attention than I already have."

The girl bowed, her face dropping to the carpeted floor, touching them for a moment. "I will call you what you wish," she said happily.

"Harry's fine."

"Then I shall call you Harry, my Lord. Shall I do anything else for you? Do you require anyone, anything in the castle?"

"No, I just want to be alone right now," Harry said cautiously. The girl nodded, looked up at him one last time, and then stood, ushering her two companions out and following them.

He turned to Blaise. "What was that?" he asked to the shell-shocked girl. "Why was she calling me 'lord'?"

"She... you..." Blaise paused, trying to compose herself. Harry chanced a glance at Ginny, who was looking at him just as strangely.

"Look," Harry said pointedly. "Everything's just screwed up today and that isn't even close to the worst of it. My best friends just told me off, and I don't think I'm ever going to talk to them again. My slave somehow gained the ability to deflect magic, then to see it — not that it's a bad thing — just that it happened without any apparent reason. Tonks disappeared with Dumbledore, talking about everything that she found out about me. I find out one of my best friends is gay and never even felt the need to tell me. And, to top it all of, two weeks of my life seem to have disappeared altogether."

Christine rubbed up against him, not exactly a hug or a cuddle, just the pleasant feeling of her being there. Harry quieted a little, feeling slightly better. "I've got a slave who will do anything I ask because I own her. She submitted to me so that she could get away from a life that sounds damned similar to mine. Now I have to protect her, not just because she's mine, but also because I would feel like a jackass if I didn't. I understand what she's gone through, probably better than most people, and I feel sorry for her. It makes me want to help her, and if the only way to help her is to be her master... well, so be it. I just wish I'd had the choice and hadn't been tricked into it."

Blaise opened her mouth. Harry stared pointedly at her. "Who was that girl and why the hell would she be bowing to me?"

"That girl is named Veranda Beatrice. She failed last year during her finals, though everyone knows it was done on purpose. She is one of the better students if you were to actually able to force her to answer the questions that she knew. However, she has been serving as liaison to _him_. She has been a Death Eater, officially, for almost two years now, doing everything in her power to help _him_, and doing it by whatever means necessary. She has killed, believe me."

It didn't take much to believe her. After all, there had been people that had gone missing in the last year or two, and some that had been in fatal accidents. What if the accidents hadn't been so accidental?

"So why would she think I'm Voldemort?" Harry asked, putting two and two together. He had thought it was a possibility when she'd called him her lord, but when it came to Harry and Voldemort they were like opposite twins, one good, one bad, completely different even if they were at one point the same.

No one answered. Harry didn't like that, it made him nervous, and to have someone like her drop before him like that had been exhilarating even if it was frightening. It spoke a great deal about what he was, and since he hated that part of himself he had cut it off, kept it from springing its head upon the world.

"She's never thought it before, I can tell you that," Blaise commented finally. "I remember how she always used to say it's the hero's that are the one's that get everything, and we Slytherins have to work for power. She hated it that you were a disgrace to the Parseltongue namesake, and that you had gotten away with so much over the years."

"That doesn't say why she suddenly thinks that I'm Voldemort," Harry retorted, racking his brain. He'd been invaded by Voldemort once, a long time ago. After that had happened he'd tripled his training in Occlumency and ended up doing most of it himself. Since then he'd been able to cut down on the scar attacks, but more important at first, the pain. After a lot of experimenting, he'd decided that the pain had come from an unstable connection, and an untrained mind. By severing the connection once, it had reestablished itself solidly, and he'd never had pain again, just a tingling when something came through, which hadn't happened in almost a year.

There was no tingling, not that he'd felt, so why might she mistake him? Perhaps a picture? No, she'd dropped even before she had seen him, and though he bore some resemblance, he was different too.

Ginny leaned over and whispered a few words to Blaise then straightened out. "I have to leave and get back to the Gryffindor towers before I'm missed. Speak with a few people about what I said today and see if I can salvage some friendships, I hope that it doesn't kill all of them; I know that a lot of the girls in the dorms are pretty biased against lesbians.

"Did anyone know?" Harry asked her before she left. "Other than you and Blaise."

"Yes, Ginny said, smiling. "You don't think Blaise was the one that got me headed this way, do you?" she asked, winking and then heading out of the dorm.

Harry's eyes widened, and he glanced at Blaise, who was smirking. "That girl sure could have done well in Slytherin," she commented happily.

Christine, who had been quiet for a long time, looked up to Harry. "What is Slytherin?" she asked.

For a moment Harry had forgotten about her, partly because he was no longer touching her, and partly because there were so many other things on his mind. "The school has four sections, houses they call them, and each house is a group of students that share similar qualities. Ravenclaws are usually the brains of the lot, Hufflepuffs are the quiet ones that make for the best friends—"

"—And cannon fodder—" Blaise commented, smirking.

"_Slytherins_ are generally the sneaky ones."

"Better to be a sneak and stay out of trouble than jump in head first without thinking about it, like Gryffindors do."

"And then there's the Gryffindors," Harry said, staring hard at Blaise. "They tend to be the hero's, always doing things before thinking. I'm a Gryffindor."

"He should have been stuck somewhere else, it took him eight times as long as anyone else to be sorted into a house, and I think he got the blunt end of the stick when it came to houses, and friends."

"Not that your friends would be any better. How many of them would keep me silent without you having to ask, bribe, or have it used against you later?" he snapped, a little angry that Blaise was hitting too close to home.

All he got from Blaise was a wicked smile. "Truth hurts, doesn't it Potter?"

There was a knock on the door and all three of the occupants looked up to see it opening. "Harry," a voice said quietly. "There are some students who are threatening to return with Severus if they're not allowed in, I think it might be wise..." she paused for a second. "I'm sorry, I'm not to think, I know. What shall I do with them? Stun them all?"

Harry looked to Blaise who was grinning from ear to ear, if he didn't know better it might have been Christmas for the girl.

"Let them in," Harry said, sighing, "Thank you though."

Veranda nodded, bowed, and then returned to the door while Blaise drew the curtains around her bed. Harry and Christine climbed on to it. Several girls entered, Harry could see them glancing meaningfully towards Blaise's bed, trying to discover what it was they had been kept from.

Christine snuggled up next to Harry and within a few minutes had fallen asleep. Blaise worked on expanding the bed secretly, so that it wouldn't be noticed outside. It took about thirty minutes and some nifty spells Harry had never seen, but she got it done successfully. When she was finished she smirked at him and slipped out of the curtains with a wink.

Harry moved a little, repositioning himself against the backboard so that he could still see out the curtain slits. Blaise left the room altogether, speaking with Veranda before she did. Veranda, the Amazon-like Slytherin, just kept still afterwards, watching the other Slytherin girls and keeping them at a distance.

There was nothing to do but sit and watch as the girls conversed for a little while, changed — something Harry didn't mind having to watch — and then disappeared out of the room again. When everyone was gone Verdana moved to the bed, never opening the curtains, and asked if he would need anything. He told her no and she disappeared through the door of the door of the dorm, probably to stand guard there.

Harry was left with Christine, who was sleeping, and a heightened emotional state from watching the girls change. He hadn't seen any of them naked, and it wasn't as if he hadn't seen girls in less clothing - Dudley had a calendar of girls in tiny swimsuits that made the underwear the girls wore, even the more scanty sets, was a good deal more than the swimsuits in the pictures. It was more the voyeuristic act of seeing them change, than anything else.

For a moment his head swam with sensation, and then everything became clear. He was sitting in a girls dorm room, with a woman sleeping next to him that would do anything to please him. Another woman, not the prettiest, but not ugly, was outside the door, and would do anything he wanted too. Even if that was all he had, he was in a very good position.

Standing, Harry pushed the curtain aside, not even glancing back to the slave on the bed, he could have her anytime he wanted and the other woman was at his disposal, but he didn't know for how long. He stepped to the door, turned it, and opened it just a little. It was in his best interests that the other girls didn't know he was there, he knew that, he didn't want anyone to know he was taking temporary refuge in the Slytherin Girls Dorms, it would make things much easier later on.

"Veranda," he said sharply, but quietly. "I require your attentions now."

The tall Slytherin rounded the corner immediately, smiling brightly. "Do you require another my Lord?" she asked immediately.

Harry didn't have to think hard about the question, one girl or two? He smiled wickedly "Yes, bring someone who'll be eager to help."

With a quick snap, Harry had turned around. He made his way along the beds, performing small charms as he did, things that would help keep the girls in the dorm room distracted should they enter while he was having fun. He smiled wickedly, thinking about how his first time with a woman was going to be not with one, but with two women.

Veranda returned soon after with a busty dark haired buxom beauty. Both of them had been vixens in bed, in Veranda's bed, and they exhausted Harry, playing for hours. He'd placed a darkening charm that kept the other from seeing all the way to Veranda's bed, which was only two down from Blaise's, and was close to the end. Whenever someone stared at it they'd feel chills, as if they were being sucked into the darkness. It kept all of them away.

When they were finished Harry rose, leaving them alone to pleasure themselves and sleep. He conjured a robe, and then slipped back into Blaise's bed to get some sleep. Having not slept the night before, he was already tired, and the two women had taken all the energy that was left in him. He was happy that he was no longer a virgin, and should anyone ask, he'd had two woman his first time. Christine was still asleep, and he watched her before using his wand to change her clothing to something more proper for her physique and status. Her robes now had a long thin lightning bolt running down the arm and covered enough that they wouldn't be changed, but little else. He also made sure they were soft and luxurious to the touch, because his slave could only have the best.

Noticing the collar around her neck, he smiled and clasped one of the chains on the front, melting it in his hand until it to had a lightning bolt on the end. He touched it with his wand gently, and it melted into her flesh, like a tattoo, just like everything else had been. She didn't make any sound, and Harry smiled as he finally lay down next to her, pulling her close to use the warmth of her body. The dungeons were quit drafty after all.

• Edited 2004.12.26 •


	10. Sass

General Note: Thanks Necrolord for beta'ing. I'm looking for a second for those still interested, but he's doing a great job at making me look better than I am.

BabyRuth: Hot damned girl, don't get your panties in a bunch, that is if you wear them. Truthfully I think 'wow' covers it. I really don't know what to say. Really. However, I'd like to see a picture of your friend though and maybe some real information about her, send it to my email. As for poetry, well sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't, depends on the poem I guess. Yours was definitely interesting. Now, go on and read the story and give me one of those oh-so-wonderful reviews you love to write for me.

* * *

Chapter 10  
• Sass •

Harry awoke to Blaise's angry voice. He yawned, stretched, and opened his eyes to look at her. She didn't look happy at all.

"What the _hell_ are you doing, taking liberties with two girls while I'm gone? That's not why I brought you down here."

Christine was still asleep, thankfully, and Harry ran his arm along her before sitting up. He looked along the curtain to see that the darkening spell was still in place. He tried to remember where he'd learned it, but though he could remember the spell, it seemed to have just appeared there.

"I don't know," he said quietly, trying to clear his mind of the fuzz of sleep. "I remember I got pretty worked up and Verdana helped me out. She brought someone else to, I don't remember her name." In truth, he was pretty sure he hadn't asked the girls name, which was embarrassing, since she had been one of his first.

For some reason he'd done a lot of things he wouldn't normally do, like asking Veranda to help him in the first place. It had been presumptuous, forward, ridiculous... and enlightening. He'd never have thought she'd just simply do anything he asked. And, to top it all off, she'd liked it. Not a little, she'd been eager to do it. He had expected Christine to be like that, and he hadn't planned on asking it, and yet, some small part of him was already regretting not using her already. The feeling of a warm body next to him was nice, but it was nothing compared to the ecstasy of sex.

"What was wrong with it, anyway?" he asked, finding the need to defend himself. "I didn't do it in your bed. If you're jealous, I'm sure Verdana would—"

"Potter!" Blaise growled sharply. "If you ever, ever say something like that again I'll make you pay for it. Now, take down that charm before it calls more attention than needed."

Harry had to think hard to remember the counter-curse to it, even though the curse was on the top of his head. It was there, just buried, and it seemed as if it had been fading away.

Once he'd turned off the field he felt some emotion running harder in the room. He could see a few girls were sitting, chatting near one of the first beds, as if they'd all bunched up together to get away from the darkness. Harry wondered why they weren't looking now, to see what Blaise was hiding. He stared at them as they spoke in hushed tones, occasionally laughing, and suddenly had a whole new perspective on them, as if sex had opened his eyes completely.

"Potter, look at me," Blaise commanded. Harry turned to her and noticed that she was thinking about something again. She was always thinking, just like Hermione. The though was like rubbing salt in his wound and he shut it out forcefully, trying to keep from thinking about the people who were now his former best friends. One thing he did know was that both of them were hardheaded, and if they were going to forgive him for whatever it was they thought he did, it wasn't going to be anytime soon.

"Did you understand what you were doing when you and Verdana relations? Was it your first time, or did you know the charms and everything?"

Harry hadn't thought about it, and now, thinking about it, he was suddenly afraid. "No," he replied weakly. "I was a virgin before, and I didn't use any spells on either of them. Should I have?"

Blaise looked a little perturbed. "You know, you're not very good at this Potter," she said, motioning around, "being a Slytherin I mean, you should think things through a little better. Maybe you wouldn't have been suited for this house anyway. I thought maybe you were supposed to be a Slytherin, I've seen your work, and you're a little too forward, but you'd generally make a good Slytherin. Now, well, like I said, maybe I had thought wrong."

Harry grinned. "I'm not going to tell you what house it wanted to put me in, so don't try and get me to."

Disgruntled, Blaise just shrugged and continued on. "Verdana probably has charms already in place, knowing her. Genevieve may not, she was quite stunning, but she was also very picky and not a single has ever made a claim to have had her. Was she a virgin?" Blaise asked.

Blushing crimson, Harry tried to remember anything that might have led him to that conclusion. "I don't know," he said finally. "She seemed to be pretty experienced, but I don't know if that means she was or wasn't a virgin."

There was more laughing down the dorm, and Harry turned to look at the girls again. One of them had fallen over and was having a difficult time getting back onto the bed. It looked as if she was trying to crawl up for some reason, and even then she couldn't keep her balance.

"Drunk," Blaise commented. "With the emotional damper that blackness was putting on this room there wasn't much else to keep them lively enough. Krystal had some of Ogden's Vicious Vodka, and they've been passing it around for a while, talking about this and that. Mostly girl talk, but they listened to you and your little harem going at it for a little while. They know that you're here, though, but they don't know who you are yet."

"Harem?" Harry asked, eyes wide.

"Yes Potter, Harem. Concubines, servants, humbly doing any perverse sexual act for their master."

"But Veranda's not my..." Harry responded quickly. He hadn't marked her, and he'd seen her naked, he knew she wasn't marked anywhere, her skin had been quite untouched except for the dark mark on her arm.

"Slave? No, I somehow doubt she's dropped that far that fast, but whatever it was you did with her only reaffirmed your status as her 'Lord'. She's already out, guarding the door as if it were her duty in life to protect you. Then there's Genevieve, who's still sleeping it off. Hell Potter, I figured you for any other boy seeing as you're not all that much different, but a Casanova of your first go? You've really got something going for you."

"I thought you liked woman," Harry snapped, not liking the way the conversation was leading. Blaise was offending him in her own way, and based on the smirk on her face, she was doing it on purpose.

"I do rather like woman," she said, reaching forward and stroking Christine. "They are so much more vigorous than men, and they don't fail in bed, not like men do."

Harry blinked and he watched her run her hands through Christine's hair. It was arousing to say the least, seeing how Blaise was looking at her. "I thought Ginny was your girlfriend," he said, trying to keep himself from thinking thoughts about Blaise that might lead him to something like he'd done earlier.

Blaise leaned down, and gently kissed Christine's lips. It was as if she breathed life into Christine, her body trembled and Harry could see Christine's eyes open in shock. Blaise pulled back quickly, surprised that Christine had awoken, and looking a little embarrassed. Christine immediately moved to Harry, looking up to him as if she should have done something else.

Immediately he shook his head to comfort her, telling her she'd done the right thing. As he'd watched the kiss it had felt like he was losing control, like he was going to do something else he might regret when it was over. Ginny was his friend, and there was no reason to betray her, especially if all it was for was a girl.

"You never answered, what's wrong with it, and why do you care?" he finally said, wanting to just end the argument. "If I get some girl pregnant it has nothing to do with you."

"Fine," Blaise shrugged, forcefully composing herself. "You can do any girl you want, but I don't want you doing it while you're in my bed unless I've said it's alright. Got it?"

Harry nodded and Blaise stalked away, saying something about bringing back some food. The time read almost nightfall, and Harry seemed surprised that he'd slept most of the day. Christine watched her go and then turned to Harry. "She was kissing me when I awoke?" she said, making it a question instead of a statement.

"Yes," Harry replied, watching the door close behind her, "she was. She was trying to make a point I think."

Christine moved her hand down Harry's chest. "You've changed," she said quietly. "You changed me as well," she said, noting the difference in clothing. Tonks had transfigured her some things to wear under her robes the previous night, but they hadn't been anything so luxurious.

"I thought you should have something that suited you more. They look a little indecent now that I think about it—"

"They're perfect," Christine said happily, standing, and twirling on Blaise's bed. "I love them." She reached out and touched his chest again. "Shall I take them off?"

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He had seen her naked before, once in the hospital, and he could remember it perfectly in his mind, all the beautiful curves of her body. It was a difficult decision, but Blaise had just left him and asked that he not have sex in her bed, now that he remembered it, the decision was much easier. "No, not yet," he said quietly, watching as she tensed up. "It's not you," he assured her, "it's not my bed, and I can't just have sex with you right here."

"I understand Master, but taking my clothing off does not mean that we'll have sex."

"You would strip just so that I could look at you?" Harry asked, surprised.

Christine nodded vigorously. "I am you property, you should want to admire me."

"And what about all the other women that are in the room?" Harry asked again, glancing towards the drunken Slytherin girls.

"They may admire my master's property as much as they like if my master wishes it."

"You would do things with them, wouldn't you, things you thought I might want you to do? That's why you kissed Tonks yesterday, wasn't it?"

Christine bowed her head. "Master wanted to do it himself, I could feel it. I felt that I might help you decide if I did it as well, I did not wish to offend you."

"No, it's alright," Harry said right away. It wasn't that he hadn't liked the show; rather that he had liked it. Tonks was his bodyguard though, not someone he could just put into his bed. If he was going to ever do something like that he was going to have to be very careful about it, that way he didn't have to worry about the repercussions that might come up.

"You would have me do it again?" she asked when she saw Harry's face furrow with concentration. She already knew him well and knew he was conflicted on the matter; it might be best if she just solved it for him. However, he was her master and she wanted to do everything appropriately, as he asked. If he had no opinion, or it was something that she did not ask about, then it might be simpler. She glanced towards the girls he was looking at and wondered if perhaps one of them might pleasure him with her.

"Not right now," he said, noticing her glance. "I was able to get relief earlier," he admitted. "Veranda helped."

Christine was sad to hear that, she'd been hoping that he might be able to do it herself. She'd toyed with him in the closet the previous day in order to give him a taste of what she could give him. She had hoped that by now he would have broken down and asked for it. But, she was patient, and it had only been a day, she could go for much longer than that. She was a little disappointed that her master had used a woman that wasn't even his own slave, and not someone that he had liked very much; she had felt that when the woman first appeared.

Would you ask anything of me then?" Christine asked finally, hoping that he would need something she could do to help him

"No," Harry replied straightaway. 'We're stuck on this bed anyway, there isn't much that we can do."

Harry looked around, and wondered exactly what it was he could do, with the girls outside the room there wasn't anything he could do at all, Blaise didn't think it was a good idea if they sway him. Even though they knew he was there they still didn't know who he was.

Genevieve woke, he watched as she sat up with a surprised look on her face, and then to the girls who were yelling rambunctiously about something on of them had said. She glanced towards Blaise's bed, smiled, and then pulled the blanket back over her body, a content smile on her face.

Harry could feel a spark of jealousy well up inside Christine.

"It's alright," he assured her, "You're mine, she's just another girl who was around earlier."

The door opened a few minutes later and Blaise walked in, followed by a house-elf with a gigantic plate of food. Harry couldn't see the elf, but he had a pretty good idea of who it was. Blaise stopped at the first bed, and unloaded some of the food for the girls, then continued down until she opened her own curtain. The food was placed at the edge of the table, and then with a pop, the elf disappeared. Harry was surprised, Dobby rarely left without saying hello.

"Who was that," Harry said, trying to see if there was any sign of the elf.

"You mean the elf?" Blaise asked curiously. "They have names?"

"Yes," Harry snapped back, angry that Blaise felt so odd about calling a house-elf by a name, it seemed so wrong, so inhumane, even though elves were not human, they were close enough.

"Probably something stupid like Spot, or Rover, knowing a house-elf..."

"I happen to know a few of them," Harry said sharply. "Some of them are great friends, even if they're a bit on the strange side. One of them went so far as to save my life more than once."

"Slaves and elves," Blaise muttered shaking her head. "You know, I thought you were strange Potter, but you really astound the mind sometimes."

Harry stared at her. He didn't understand what was so wrong with having friends of elves. "You must have heard of Hermione's house-elf liberation club," he pointed out.

"S.P.E.W.?" she asked, laughing. "I had thought that was a joke, you're serious, she has a club named SPEW for freeing house-elves?"

Harry nodded. The idea did sound stupid, he'd always thought that, and now that Hermione was angry with him it sounded even stupider. But, there was a point to it, some end of the tunnel. Freed house-elves. What use were free house-elves though? They certainly wouldn't do well alone, without some family to care for them, or a place to live. Most of them enjoyed their jobs, and even hated the idea of being free. Dobby was a strange elf, and most of the other elves seemed to be more along the lines of Winky. If they were freed, who knew what would happen? A thousand little elves wandering the countryside, drunk on butterbeer, it would be a mess. A mess that Hermione was going to create.

Maybe he was wrong about things; he'd always listened to Hermione, always listened to Ron. What if they had had views that were just as skewed as Draco's? What if he'd been wrong to listen to them for so long? After all, it was because he didn't cheat that Cedric was killed fourth year. If he'd ignored them and gone after Sirius before Sirius showed up in third year everything might have been different, even now Sirius might have been alive. Then there was second year, if he'd told the headmaster he was hearing voices in the wall, the all-knowing-old-wind-bag might have figured things out a little earlier. Harry wouldn't have had to slay a basilisk to stay alive. Then there was always first year, when he'd ended up down the hole to stop Snape — who it seemed wasn't the real culprit — from stealing the Philosophers Stone, something that would have happened whether or not Harry was there. Dumbledore had of course shown up just in time to save the stone, he'd probably had the whole thing under some sort of spell to inform him the room had been compromised.

"Yeah, sometimes I do things a little different,' he admitted. "But look at where it's gotten me. I've got a slave that'll willingly do anything I want her to do. A house-elf that would probably serve me if I even thought about it. I'm sleeping in the bed of a beautiful Slytherin girl; I've got a personal bodyguard. The world thinks I'm some sort of golden-boy and I could get anything from them if I wanted to, I'd definitely do great in politics. There's a girl outside that'll do damn near anything to keep me safe, or satisfy me and I've never even met her before today. Someone's decided that I have some sort of value, because they're sending me gifts with no return address. And I got laid for the first time today, not by one, but by two women. My life is getting better and better everyday."

He paused, and then laughed. "Hell, I've even got an army behind me that's fully trained and ready to take my orders. Not a big one, just a small group of witches and wizards, but they're better trained than most, and I've trained them all personally."

"The DA of course," Blaise commented. "I have heard they're going to separate them out for the N.E.W.T.s this year and see how well they do on more advanced spellwork."

The new information made Harry happy, but it surprised him that Blaise knew and he didn't. If she'd told Ginny it surely would have made it to him sooner or later. "Where did you hear that?" he asked.

Blaise smirked. "My parents are host to several formal parties during the winter season, and the N.E.W.T instructors are naturally invited, it's protocol when worrying about the future of your child. It seems some of them struck up a conversation in the back that my mother just happened to overhear."

"Yes, odd coincidence, isn't it?" Harry asked, smiling. He was glad he'd heard this now, he was going to have to bring it up, or at least teach them some spells more advanced than standard N.E.W.T material. Now he was going to have to look it up without Hermione's help, but after being drilled about bookwork for years, he knew there were some things that he could do on his own. Hermione had been good for something, even if she was a major annoyance.

The thought off Hermione as an annoyance made Harry cringe. She had been sometimes, but not all the time, and it was usually for his, or someone else's safety, it wasn't something she could help either, it just seemed to come naturally.

Hermione was, or at least had been, his friend, and he'd never had these sort of thoughts about her when they'd been in fights before. He thought about it, and realized that they'd never been in a fight before. Hermione had been disappointed with him, sometimes sad and left out, but never had they been at each other's throats like they were now. Ron had only been in a fight with Harry once, at least a real fight, they'd had small arguments before, but they were always immediately resolved too.

"Harry?" Blaise asked, waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you there? You looked as if you'd gotten lost in thought somewhere, and I really don't want to sit here staring at you while you just think things through."

"Not all that much to stare at, huh?" Harry asked quietly, not feeling happy about what was happening. It was as though his self-esteem had suddenly been shot, like he was stuck in a closet again with his aunt berating him from outside the door.

"Dammit Potter," Blaise said, grabbing him. "I'm going to give you some pepperup potion and see if that won't help I don't know what the hell is happening to you, but you need some serious medical help if this continues to happen. You're worse than a woman sometimes."

Christine reached up along Harry's side and pulled him a little closer, kissing his lips lightly. Harry opened his eyes to see Blaise staring, her mouth forming a little "o". She seemed very interested, but then, he'd already done that today and even though he could feel he was up to the task again, he really didn't feel like doing it.

"Christine," he said quietly once she'd pulled away, "not right now."

She looked a little putout, but she recovered just fine. Harry finally took one of the sandwiches that had been offered, and worked on eating it to keep the mood quiet while he thought.

• Edited 2004.12.26 •


	11. Leviathans

Author Note: For those who don't know it, I have a Yahoo Group now. groups!yahoo!com/group/Mehetabelos/ (Change the !'s to .'s). It's also on my homepage on my author profile. It is also an adult group unfortunately, because I wasn't thinking when I set it up, there doesn't seem to be anyway to take it off an adult profile though. Anyway, I can post fast if I choose to, I'm working on the chapter a lot lately, however I'm not getting the sort of reviews I want, which means I'm probably not getting spread to the amount of people I thought I would be. It's alright, it's not really anyone's fault, I'll just keep the posts a little slower to try and catch more attention. If you want to talk about my stories get on my group, I discuss them there. I also will discuss further ideas there if someone has a challenge they want to give me, or point out. If you can't manage to get into the group you can always join PottersPlace2 (groups!yahoo!com/group/PottersPlace2/) Yahoo group and post something there, I'm around there as well. Rambling, I know, I just had to get some stuff out. Now, get your ass to reading and thinking about how to best review.

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Chapter 11  
• Leviathans •

Blaise kept them there the whole night. Harry, still exhausted for some reason, didn't have any problem going back to bed. Christine, though she'd slept most of the day, dutifully stayed by him, and awake a good part of the night.

Harry knew she was awake, because he didn't exactly sleep, it was more like a waking sleep, he could feel her next to him, hear her breathing. He could also hear the other girls; the ones who'd gotten drunk earlier, getting a bit more frisky with their attentions. It wasn't long before he fell asleep, to thoughts of women crawling into his bed.

Sleep wasn't his destination. He opened his eyes to find himself in another room, in a dark place that he'd never been in before. It was familiar though, as if he'd seen it in another dream, a dream that he couldn't remember. There was a woman lying next to him, stiff, but warm, and she didn't seem to be happy about something that had happened, or that was happening.

Harry stared at the arch in her back, the pale white color of her skin that glowed with the flickering torchlight. Slowly, he reached forward, touching the skin softly, running his finger along her back. He couldn't see her face, but he could see her black hair was long and straight, that it fell across her back like silk, and made her shiver with delight when he touched it. "M'lord?" she asked softly as he continued tracing her body with his finger until he come to the place where it disappeared beneath the sheets.

"He is here," Harry said quietly. "Listening, feeling, touching. He enjoys it even more than I do." Harry continued. He wondered who 'he' was, and the answer came to him almost as quickly as he'd asked. Voldemort knew he was here, he was doing these things to entertain Harry, to give him something, When Harry tried to discover what it was, he felt himself imprisoned, and he couldn't get the answer.

The woman turned to him, her face still cloaked under the silky black hair. Her lips were showing underneath though, the hair parted around pieces of them, revealing their lush plumpness, the lips he'd seen in the dream. But why was he dreaming of those lips, and why didn't he remember them.

_You'll come to remember,_ Voldemort whispered in his mind, _you'll_ _remember the things you and I have done. You'll see how great we could be together._

Harry shook his head, but had a hard time looking away from the girl. She rose off the bed, facing him, baring everything. Her taught skin was flawless, and ivory white. She looked almost like a trophy instead of a woman, a beautiful carving created to imitate some goddess of some ancient civilization. Her lips flashed red and she reached forward, drawing Harry to her and kissing him strongly. For a moment their tongues intermingled and then she drew away, staring at him. He stared back, shocked, surprised, and aghast at the woman he saw there. Bellatrix Lestrange. A younger woman, more vivacious, more beautiful, untouched by the rigors of Azkaban, but still Bellatrix.

"Stay with me tonight," she said in a whisper. "Take me as you did three nights ago. Mark me, show me your strength."

Harry fought it, fought the feeling he had when she told him that. He knew they weren't his feelings, that they were Voldemort's, but they made him feel strong, powerful, and he knew he liked it, even if it was for just a little while. Still he fought, tried to keep down the urges that rose up. His hand shot forward, striking her perfect white skin, leaving blood on the corner of her lips and the imprint of the back of his hand across her face. He shook his head again, he couldn't beat her, he wanted to hurt her, but he wanted to make her go away so that he didn't feel such a strong attraction. He hated to look at her, but he loved the feelings that doing it caused.

His eyes slid to her again and he could see her licking the blood from her lips, smiling. It was so infuriating that he'd hit her and she'd liked it. He did it again and again. She moaned with ecstasy and he screamed with anger.

When he stopped, he stared at her, laying in front of him, languishing in pleasure, her body covered in her own blood. He covered his eyes and looked away, but something told him to open them again, open them and stare at her. He fought, once again in vain, because only moments later he was staring down at her, wondering what her blood tasted like, wondering if she'd like him to take her while she laid there, bloody.

"Thank you," she said heavily, between long sighs.

Harry almost puked, but he finally pulled himself away and fled from the room.

"You enjoyed that," his voice said. Not his voice, Voldemort's voice, he wasn't Voldemort.

"You made me like it!" Harry said, staring at Voldemort in a mirror, one of the many that seemed to line the halls. "You made me continue, you made me want it."

"No Harry," Voldemort said with a growing grin. "I only made you stay. What you did was your choice, I had nothing to do with it."

"You!" Harry said, wide-eyed, suddenly realizing where Christine had come from, why Veranda had thought he was Voldemort. Their connection had grown stronger, and somehow Veranda could feel Voldemort through him.

"I sent the slave, yes. You have enjoyed her company, have you not?" he paused for a second. "You have not taken her, how odd. You enjoyed her before, while she was here. But... I see, you have taken one of my own. How thrilling, I cannot begin to understand your mind Harry Potter, but I can see that you have much potential. Reward my servant as you will for her loyal services to me. She was always... eager to be of service. I will reward her when she next sees me."

Harry shook his head, he wouldn't reward her, it would make her a whore in a way, as if he'd paid for her to come to him and sleep in his bed. _But she is a slut, a whore, nothing more than a servant_, a voice in his head said. Harry shook it again, trying to keep the voice out, trying to keep the emotions from flooding over him. He couldn't let this happen, he wouldn't let it happen.

Shuddering, Harry's eyes flew open and he found himself in a strange bed, with someone warm curled up against him. He panicked for a moment, and moved to throw the warmth away when he remembered who it was, and where he was. Blaise's bed, in the Slytherin girls dorms. He could sense Blaise near, and was comforted when Christine sighed happily into his ear. She'd been feeling some of his emotions, some of his hate for himself, and now everything was better.

It was just a dream, he told himself, but he knew it wasn't, knew it was too real, even more real than the dreams he'd had fifth year. He could still feel the blood, almost as if it were dripping off his fingers, warm thick blood. The thought made him cold inside; it filled his body like a shiver that he couldn't shake. The room didn't feel so warm anymore, and neither did Christine. He pulled away from her slowly, then pulled himself off the bed and stood. No one was awake. That much he could see. The drunken Slytherin girls had passed out in the same bed. But he wasn't really interested in them.

Stepping away from the bed, he walked along the dorm, opened the door and stepped out, only to find Veranda was still there, looking dead tired. When she saw him her eyes and mouth opened at the same time, but Harry shook his head. "Go to bed," he told her, seeing the state she was in. He couldn't make someone suffer, not after what he'd just done, even if she was a Death Eater.

She opened her mouth to object and Harry's temper flared. It was as if something clicked inside her. She dropped her head, turned and made her way into the dorm room. He hadn't said another word, but she'd listened.

The hallway along the girls dorms was empty and quiet. The damp chill of it didn't disturb Harry; he was already too cold to be bothered with it. His robe was light, and he couldn't recall how to transfigure it to be heavier, so he ignored it, hoping that the cool the air might do him some good.

At the entrance to the common room Harry stopped and wondered what he was doing. He'd only been in it once before today, and that was in second year when he'd taken Polyjuice potion to look like Crabbe or Goyle, he couldn't recall at the moment, but the important thing was that if anyone saw him there might be a fight. It didn't bother him at all, that he might be fighting, and as he closed his eyes and stepped through the door and hoped there might be one, and that whoever fought him was better, so that maybe they could beat him into submission, make him pay for the beating he'd just given Bellatrix.

Someone was there, there were two people there, sleeping on the couch. Harry closed his eyes, counted to five, and opened them again before stepping forward. From his position he couldn't see who they were, but he was hoping for a fight, and they were making things easy.

Touching the back of the head, Harry got a surprise, finding it a pile of soft hair. He pulled back, but not quick enough to awake the person, who swiveled to see him, eyes wide with fear. He knew her, though he wasn't sure how he knew her. Her image had been burnt into his mind at some point, something she'd done or said to him, but he couldn't remember who she was, or why she would be in his memory.

She screeched and tumbled backwards, afraid for her life, Harry could see it in her eyes. He suddenly didn't want a commotion, didn't want to fight anyone, and she was going to bring them all. He dove after her, trying to clamp his hand over her mouth, but she only struggled harder against him.

When he finally was on top of her and her pinned he could hear her mumbling something over and over again. He leaned closer, trying to hear what it was, and her mumbling sped up, as if she were afraid of what he was going to do.

"Please don't, please don't, please don't," was all she was saying, over and over again.

His eyes widened and he pulled away. "I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her. "I just don't want a scene." The girl stared at him, her eyes still wide with fear, and she was so afraid that she was trembling. "Please don't be afraid," he begged. "I really don't want to hurt you," he said, trying to remain as kind as possible. He didn't trust her yet, and he didn't want her to scream, but he wasn't going to brandish his wand, that would only make things worse.

"What's your name?" he asked quietly, standing up enough to release her from under him.

"B...Br... Brandi," she said finally.

"Well Brandi, I'm sorry I startled you, I didn't mean to."

"You... you're not... going to kiss me, are you?" she asked, terrified.

Harry withdrew so fast he tripped over himself. "You were the one, the one I hurt with some sort of kiss?" he asked once he'd sat up again. Brandi hadn't moved, she was frozen in place, but she wasn't quite as afraid anymore. He could see her visibly relaxing. She nodded after a moment, but she didn't seem to want to, as if she had something more to say to his words.

"I'm sorry," he said immediately. "But I don't even remember it happening. I think maybe it wasn't really me, I did a lot of things that I don't remember."

"It didn't hurt," she said quietly. "Not at first."

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to her. He watched her as he got to his feet, and slowly moved closer to her, sitting down on one of the sofas. "What was it like?" he asked, curious to know.

"It was like... warm butterbeer when you haven't eaten anything in days. It filled my whole body, and made me weak. It was blissful, like the rest of the world was perfect, like you'd make everything right. It felt so good that I never wanted it to end. But the feeling did end, when you pulled away, it ended and it didn't feel good anymore, it hurt. It felt like someone was poking me with knives everywhere, like I'd broken all my bones at once. Then, when you let go of me it hurt even more, it was like part of me was in you and I couldn't get it back."

Brandi stopped speaking, and stared at him from the floor. "I wanted it back so bad. I wanted to feel that warm feeling again, because it made everything go away. I wanted you to kiss me again, but I couldn't talk."

"But it hurt you," Harry said, afraid she might ask him to do it.

"And it felt good, so very, very good. I wanted the world to be right again, wanted you to make everything ok."

Harry shook his head. "I can't do it, I don't remember how, and I don't want you to be hurt."

"No," Brandi said quietly. "I don't want you to do it again, not now. I'm afraid if you did I wouldn't be myself again, that I wouldn't be able to stop." Sighing, Harry nodded. He was glad that she didn't want it.

"You thought I was going to do it again, didn't you? When I touched you, you thought I was going to kiss you again."

The Slytherin girl nodded. "I want to be my own person, I want to be Brandi, the pureblood Slytherin girl that gets anything she wants. That's why I was sleeping out here, it was rumored that you were in the girls dorms, that you were playing with Veranda. When I saw her standing outside the 7th year dorms... I thought maybe it was true."

"It was, sort of. After the fight in the great hall I wasn't going to go back to the common room and face them right away. Someone brought me here to stay for a while, they felt I would be safer here than anywhere else," Harry said, trying to keep who it was from being revealed, but he knew if there was already rumors of him being there, then it was likely those rumors included Blaise's name.

"So Harry Potter comes to hide in the Slytherin dungeons? You get points for creativity, but not for self-preservation. There are more than a few people here who would hurt you without thinking. I was, until recently, one of those people," Brandi said.

"So you can't hurt me, because I hurt you?" Harry asked, confused.

"No," Brandi said, smiling for the first time. "You made me see something inside myself that I've never seen before. I couldn't harm you after you'd done that to me, especially since you're not even trying to harm me. You look so innocent, like you did before that day you kissed me, like the Harry Potter I knew, the one I thought I was teasing that day."

"Teasing?" Harry asked, even more confused.

Brandi nodded. "You were running around the school half-naked. I made a comment about it and it got you angry. That's when you kissed me and everything changed."

"Did I do anything else?" Harry asked, trying to find out what it was he'd done. "Before or after I kissed you, did I do anything to anyone else?"

There was a long side-ways glance to a portrait. Harry followed her look and saw it contained a picture of a herd of horses, and one boy wearing black robes. He couldn't quite make out the house on them, but he had a sudden sinking feeling. "_I _did that?" he asked.

"Yes, Travis has been stuck in a portrait ever since. He's actually taken to it quite well, doing errands for some of the other Slytherins, picking up all sorts of information. But, I think he's afraid of coming out."

Harry stood and walked over to the portrait. The boy was scruffy looking, a little dirty, but otherwise looked healthy. He slept soundly at the edge of the Pasteur, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Harry tapped the portrait. "Travis," he said quietly. The figure opened his eyes and shifted his gaze to Harry. He froze, staring at Harry in terror.

"I won't hurt you," Harry assured the figure, but no manner of assurance would do it, and suddenly Travis bolted through another portrait and out of sight.

Harry looked to Brandi, who'd gotten a little closer, but was still keeping her distance. "I don't know how I put him there," he admitted. "I don't remember, or I would try and help him out of it. Can't he speak with Dumbledore, or Snape, couldn't they help him?"

"No one would believe it happened, the headmaster even said it was impossible to have done that. He said you must have created some sort of illusion. Travis wouldn't come out for them either, he hid somewhere until after they were gone." Brandi said. She paused for a minute and bit her lip. "I think, maybe, he doesn't want to be out of the portraits at all, not just that he doesn't want to come out, he just doesn't want to be a person again. He was having some problems up until you did that to him, and now, well, everything's different for him."

"Won't someone miss him?" Harry asked.

"No," Brandi said quietly. "Not really, I was his only real friend, that's why he stepped out because of what you did. He was sort of a tag-along, and never fit in well because he was a half-blood. Now he has some status among the Slytherins, and a lot of them owe him favors. Since he is still a student he can collect on them just like anyone else. Usually he uses them to gain himself favors for other people."

"This has all happened in the last few days?" Harry asked, wide-eyed.

Brandi nodded, smirking. "While he wasn't accepted, there was a reason he was sorted. There was also a reason he and I were friends, I may not want to hurt you now, but I am still a Slytherin, and you're going to owe me for not calling out and brining down others on you."

"What will I owe you?"

"Sometime I'll tell you, for now, worry about getting back into bed, you don't want to be seen by someone else."

"It's 3 a.m. how many people are up at that time of the day?"

Brandi smirked. "You wouldn't believe the sort of things that go on around here in the early mornings. I've seen some of the older Slytherins do some pretty bad things when I was younger. It's one of the things that kept me safe when I was younger, having dirt on some of the more powerful Slytherins."

"Powerful?"

A grin broke out on Brandi's face. "I very much doubt you'd understand it, since Gryffindors are too stupid to have any sort of order within their houses, but let me explain it. There is a leadership that runs within the Slytherin house. They're generally the more prestigious students, but they control the comings and going, almost everything. They're called the Leviathans. It is their job, their purpose, to know and control everything that happens within the Slytherin house. They hold the position for the Basilisk, but there is rarely a single person in a leadership position."

Harry listened intently as Blaise continued. "The Leviathans run everything, when something comes up within the house, they are the ones who you go to, nothing that happens within Slytherin goes any further unless it's been brought before the Leviathans. They make the rules, they enforce them, it is their function. During fifth year, when there was a squad that worked with Umbridge —-"

Harry made a sour face. He hadn't heard that name in well over a year, and it didn't sound appeasing to hear it again.

"—Yes, you didn't like the woman, as I remember, nor did she like you. However, as I was saying, there was a squad working under Umbridge. Before they were given the right to form, after she came asking for some help, the Leviathans discussed it, approved, and allowed for several Slytherins to join."

"That means they know I'm here?" Harry asked, digesting the information. It was quite interesting that there was some sort of leadership roles running within the house. It probably accounted for some problems, but also fixed a lot of them as well. It also helped some of the Slytherins get a feel for what running things would be like - which was what all Slytherins wanted to do, even if not from the pulpit.

Brandi laughed. "Of course they do, your rooming with two of them, one's even playing guard at the door, like some social outcast. Why else do you think everyone would listen to her orders?"

"Because they're afraid of her?"

Brandi just rolled her eyes. "Veranda? She's a pussycat compared to the Leviathans as a whole. Between the four of them they could torture you to the brink of death, and while they're at it, destroy your family - including distant relatives - socially, politically and economically, slipping away with every bit of what they had. You wrong them, you'll pay."

"So no one will harm me?" Harry asked, grasping a bit of what Brandi was implying. "Because Veranda wants to protect me?"

"You've not got the Leviathans' full support yet, but the unofficial word is that no one is to harm you, or Veranda will get vindictive. Besides, two out of four isn't bad."

"Two?" Harry asked, wondering who the second one was. "It's not you, is it?"

Brandi smiled coyly, but shook her head. "I'm not going to tell you, you already know enough about them. If I were you I wouldn't discuss it while around others, even Slytherins, it's not good for your health to be speaking about things that are kept secret."

"Why did you tell me then?" Harry asked.

She shrugged and stood. "Maybe I sort of like you Harry. After all, you broke me with a kiss, and I'm not the sort of person that breaks easily."

With a wink, she disappeared into the girls dorms, while Harry stood there gawking.

• Updated 2005.01.08 •


	12. Rage

Author Note: I want to thank everyone that's been following the story. For those interested, I have a yahoo group, the address is - groups!yahoo!com/group/Mehetabelos/ - (it is however a adult group because of my stupidity, and there's nothing I can do about it) and I started a Harry/Undeveloped Character group - groups!yahoo!com/group/HPUC - which isn't an adult group. (Notice: you must replace the !'s with .'s (duh)). Anyway, I've got a lot of this story done, and I'm trying to finish it up so I can go to the other profile and work on my normal stories. However, the only way I'm going to post is by hearing more from readers. Please read and review.

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For BabyRuth - see end of chapter for response.

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Chapter 12  
• Rage •

The next morning, Harry found himself sandwiched between two girls. Christine in front of him, and another person, who he immediately assumed to be Blaise, against his back. It was comforting, and restrictive, almost sensual. He smiled after he awoke fully, and leaned forward, burying his head into Christine's dark hair and sighing. "You know," he whispered into her ear, "I've never woke up next to a girl before I met you. Hell, I'd never even slept with someone else until last night."

Christine was awake, because she yawned and stretched, smiling as she turned to him. "Would you like me to wake you in a better way next time Master?" she asked, touching on innocence. Harry couldn't even begin to comprehend her thoughts, but he had enough of his own to make up for them. Christine purred as it became apparent he was thinking the same things. "I'll do it if you ask it of me."

Even with Blaise sleeping next to him Harry had a hard time saying no. He had a hard time speaking at all; his mind wasn't quite functioning right. The fact that they were in the Slytherin girls dorms and that he was in a lot of trouble had slipped his mind completely.

"I... err... I mean... when... well.... how about we wait until we're not sleeping in someone else's bed?" Harry finally managed to stutter.

"Because Blaise would kill you if you got a blowjob while she was sleeping next to you." Blaise said from behind. "I'm disgusted even thinking about it Potter. Why the hell did I have to wake up to that sort of image?" she complained. Harry could tell she didn't care that much, although he was pretty sure he wouldn't have wanted to wake to Ron having that conversation with someone.

"If that's the only thing you could think of, I'm sure Christine could help you imagine other ways of both of you waking me up," Harry said, daring a glance at Blaise as he did. Her lips formed a circle, as if she'd been slapped in the face hard enough to wake her from a deep sleep. She started to say something, but her lips didn't seem to form words properly. "I'm kidding," he said finally, seeing that she wasn't going to be able to think at the rate she was going. "Christine could help you wake up too I'm sure," he added mockingly. He didn't have to even look at Christine to know that she agreed, he just felt it.

It was probably for his benefit anyway, everything she did was to make him happy, and though hen was already a little tired of it, it was sort of nice to have someone there for that reason. He looked up, past Blaise, and realized that there was more than one person that was willing to do that for him, all he had to do was ask.

"What time is it?" he asked absent-mindedly.

"It's nearly seven, and that means I'm late for a meeting."

"With Veranda and the other members of the Leviathans?" Harry asked.

Blaise slowed, she didn't freeze, but Harry could see that she was startled. It hadn't taken much to conclude that she was the second female member, but he was surprised it was her, and not Pansy or Millicent, both of them were from old families, but perhaps they'd been removed from the running when Veranda had stayed around.

"You know an awful lot about the Slytherins for not being one," Blaise said slowly. "You didn't know that yesterday, and I'm very interested to know who talked with you about it."

"What if it was Veranda?" Harry asked, trying to keep from revealing Brandi, he'd already made the mistake of letting Blaise know the information he knew.

"Veranda hasn't told you though," Blaise said, searching Harry for the answer he was not going to give. "She was tired yesterday, but I spoke with her and she never mentioned anything about speaking with you about those things. She said you'd just requested services."

Harry didn't respond immediately. He was beginning to think that it wasn't him who'd done the requesting, that Voldemort had been inside him. But, he remembered everything so clearly, so vividly. It wasn't like before in fifth year when he'd been taken over by Voldemort. Then he'd been unable to do anything, and afterwards it had all be a blur. It wasn't like that, not this time, this time he'd made the decision, he remembered making the decision, thinking about Veranda and what she might be able to do for him sexually, even wondering how to approach her. Of course it had made sense at the time to treat her like a slave, though he was sure he wouldn't have thought that at any other time. Somehow Voldemort was influencing him, he wasn't sure, but it was happening and it had to stop.

"It doesn't matter," he said, angry with himself for allowing Voldemort into his head again. He stared up at Blaise and something clicked. "What matters is that I know, and it would be easy enough to find out whatever I want to about you four, so don't tease me. Get to your meeting; if I've got any further questions about The Leviathans I'll address them when I return. Oh, and do tell Veranda, when you see her, that she pleased me yesterday. I'll reward her somehow."

Blaise seemed shocked, more shocked than when he'd brought up The Leviathans. Harry stared squarely at her and she nodded, barely, and then left in a hurry. After she'd gone and Harry had calmed down again he realized what he'd said, how he'd acted. "That's not me," he said to himself, "I'm not like that."

"You are a good Master," Christine said quietly, laying her head in his lap. "You will be alright."

Harry stared down at Christine, absent-mindedly running his hands through her hair. It was almost like petting a cat; she wiggled a little in his lap, but otherwise kept quiet. Harry had a long time to contemplate what he was going to do about what was happening, what had happened, over the last few days.

Blaise was back within the hour, while Harry silently contemplated what was going on. He didn't really care about Christine, that Voldemort gave her to him, because he knew she was not Voldemort's, she was his, and nothing Voldemort could do would change that. What mattered was that Voldemort was trying to do something, and Harry wasn't sure exactly what it was. Based on Voldemort's decisions in the past, it wasn't a good thing.

When Blaise actually walked in on the two, Harry was still thinking, but this time about Bellatrix. He pulled a hand away from Christine and stared at it, remembering the feeling he'd had as he beat her, the feeling of anger, of pain, the way it had felt so good to show her he was stronger than she'd said, stronger than she had teased him about. She liked it, and it made it worse, made him angrier, and he'd kept going, back and forth, back and forth until he'd had blood all over him, until even his own hands had bled. It had been him doing it, him controlling Voldemort's body, because Voldemort had wanted it, wanted to show him.

Blaise spoke, breaking Harry's concentration and thoughts. "You treat her like a pet Potter."

Harry looked down at Christine, who had, at some point crawled across his lap and was stretched in front of him, letting him run his hands through her hair and along her back. She wasn't asleep, but she wasn't awake either, her eyes were half-open and she had a content smile on her face.

"She's mine," Harry growled, "What does it matter to you how I treat her?"

"It doesn't. I was just making an observation."

"How did the meeting go?" Harry asked. "Am I to be allowed to stay, or am I to be sent along my way?"

Blaise frowned. Harry smirked, he'd known, the moment he'd told Blaise to relay a message to Veranda, he'd simply understood the meeting was about him, it did make sense. Their meetings only took place when there was something important to discuss.

"No one told me," Harry said before she could ask. "It's just the logical conclusion. I show up, and there is a meeting of The Leviathans. It doesn't take a Ravenclaw to figure things out."

"You're a smart ass Potter," Blaise said with a shrew glance. "Sometimes I can't help think that you were meant to be a Slytherin, now is one of those times. I am happy that you're not, it might have made things difficult for some of us, being that you're a goody-goody among other things."

Harry hated to be called that, and snorted. "Yeah, I bet I've broken more rules than you have."

"No doubt. You've also gotten a good deal more detentions than I have." Blaise snapped.

"I need to leave, am I allowed to come back?"

Blaise studied him for a second. "The Leviathans have been split about the decision, so you'll have to stand before them in an hour, after breakfast. We need to prepare for now, unsure that not all secrets are given away during the meeting."

Harry wasn't sure what Blaise meant, but he was all right with it. He needed to go do something anyway, the fight was still troubling him, and he wasn't sure if he could just let their seven year friendship die out on them with on fight. If she would consider trying to deal with Christine, he was willing to take a second go at the friendship, it meant too much to him.

"What if I don't return within an hour?" Harry asked, curious to know. If something did happen, and Hermione wanted to think about their friendship, or maybe if he got Ron to rethink things, which there was even less of a chance of, he needed to know if he had to return.

"It would be considered an insult to the council, and you would never be allowed to petition them for anything again unless you could provide ample reason and suitable apologies."

"So big presents and a really good reason?" Harry said, smirking. Blaise was in one of the better-than-everyone moods it seemed, and he thought it was funny after he'd gotten to know a little about her during the time he'd been around her. There was one thing he knew, she was nothing like Draco. He did hope she wasn't responding to his actions earlier, he wasn't sure if it had been something she would respond to, but he did know she hadn't liked it much.

"Yes Harry, that would be a fairly direct translation," Blaise said, her eyes narrowing. "You don't plan on standing up the council, do you?"

Harry smiled as sweetly as possible. Now that he knew about the Leviathans he had no intention of angering them, so it would be best to show up and find out their final decision before deciding whether to go or stay.

Still, he needed to go now, while breakfast was in session. Hermione rarely ate breakfast when she was mad, so he might be able to get her alone in the tower. "No, I don't plan to do anything of the sort," Harry answered when he saw Blaise was awaiting an answer. "I just had to know how important it was."

"Important enough that if you screw this up we'll no longer have a friendship," Blaise offered. "I put a lot at stake just letting them know you knew of the council and wanted to petition for the ability to enter the common room unprotected by a Leviathan."

"So your reputation is on the line?" Harry asked, realizing that he'd been put in a spot, that he really owed Blaise, even if he wasn't allowed entrance.

"Just be there Harry, I really don't want to hate you for the rest of my life. As soft as you are, you're too Slytherin to hate, I'm afraid of what might happen."

Harry grinned. "Then I'll make sure I'm there. Just don't change the password on me while I'm gone." Christine was already standing when he pulled himself to his feet. "I need to go take care of something while breakfast is being served."

They left the girls dorms, Harry checking his robes and Christine's before leaving. While they were a little rumpled they were relatively clean, and a cleaning charm did the trick, making them look freshly washed and pressed. Several Slytherins stopped their morning rituals to watch Harry pass by. More than one Exploding Snap was dropped on the floor as he passed. No one said anything, it was more like an eerie silence with odd explosions every minute or so.

Once outside the door, Harry hurried away quickly, hoping that none of the Slytherins realized that now that he was outside the common room he was fair game, or at least he figured that the Leviathans protection hadn't extended that far, especially if it was unofficial.

Harry pulled his cloak a little tighter around him and suddenly wished that Christine's outfit didn't stand out so much. They continued down the hallway, taking the long route to the common room, trying to avoid as many people as possible. It didn't work entirely; Harry had forgotten that the Hufflepuffs were close enough to the Slytherin common rooms that it would be difficult to avoid any of the traffic heading to breakfast. However, when he passed by a group of them none of them said anything at all. The second group even had Susan Bones in it, who waved to Harry with a smile on her face. Harry returned the wave before disappearing down a side hall.

It took entirely too long to get to the Gryffindor common rooms, and Harry was a little angry that he had avoided taking the halls with the best shortcuts and secret passages, it would have cut the time in half. However, he did get there without directly encountering anyone else.

Peeves of course didn't count though, the poltergeist had seen him and cackled with delight. He swooped forward and did a summersault in the air, somehow ending up upside down and in Harry's face. "Peeves is hearing all sorts of things, he is," the man cackled. "That Potter is such a trickster, that he is fooling the whole school into thinking he is a hero."

"Go away Peeves," Harry said, dangerously. "I really don't have time for this."

"Is this the pretty maiden? Slave to the white knight?"

"Peeves," Harry said, trying to take a dangerous tone. It really didn't work that well, but he was getting irritated, and irritated meant that he wouldn't have to deal with Peeves alone. Still, he rather preferred it that way and hoped Voldemort didn't enter into his body again, it was creepy to have thoughts that weren't his own, and even worse when they made him do things he didn't want to do.

"Is Harry supposed to be scary?" Peeves cackled, moving backwards in the air as Harry tried to make a grab for him.

"Little Peevesy is wanting to know if all they is saying is true, he's not wanting to hurt poor little Hero Harry."

"Peeves," Harry repeated again, this time his voice so cold that Peeves straightened up a little bit. "Leave now, or be forced to pay the consequences."

"Peeves isn't thinking that the Hero boy could hurt him."

"The hero can do anything he likes," Harry continued coldly. "Including forcing Peeves to remember why he is so afraid of the Bloody Baron, he knows the spell that could do such a thing."

Even though Harry didn't have the faintest clue what he was talking about, Peeves seemed to know. He didn't even bother saying goodbye, or waving his hat at Harry before disappearing through a wall beside them. "Go away," Harry said quietly. "I don't want you in my head."

The misty presence that had taken up residence on the edge of his mind retreated with a cold shivering feeling. It took a minute, and Harry felt much better once it was gone, if not a little tired even though he'd just woken up.

When they arrived at the door to the Gryffindor common room it seemed to be void of any life at all. Harry stood in front of the fat lady, holding Christine's hand and spoke the password from his memory. "Roses," he said, and then waited.

The fat lady, dressed in a lavender colored dress today, looked down at him and smiled. "Sorry sweetie," she said cheerfully. "That was the password up until yesterday, it's been changed."

"Who changed it?" Harry asked, astonished. The password was rarely changed outside the normal month to month changes that took place, it was easier to kept rack o the passwords that way.

"The Head Girl said that she believed the password had been given out to someone outside the Gryffindor house and asked me to change it."

"Hermione wanted it changed?" Harry asked in disbelief. He had a good idea why it had been changed, and it wasn't because someone else knew it.

"Can you just let me in?" he pleaded, doubting it would work. He'd seen Neville outside the door enough times to understand that without a password he wasn't getting in. It was a good thing his trunk was locked up with some special Auror stuff that Tonks had insisted keeping there so that no one was able to set a trap in it for him. Hermione wouldn't be able to get past the locks easily, and so she wouldn't be able to get to the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak.

"Is she in there?" Harry asked, hoping that the Fat Lady could at least find that out. If he could get Hermione to come out he might be able to straighten things out. Hopefully he was wrong, and someone else had gotten the password to the common room.

The portrait turned for a minute, moved about and then turned back around. "She's not there I'm afraid."

Harry sighed. He really didn't want to deal with al of the students returning from breakfast, and the questions that would come up. He wasn't prepared for it, and so he knew he wouldn't be staying around. Plus, he needed to be in the Slytherin common room within the next forty minutes.

"Come on Christine," he said reluctantly, turning away and starting down the hallway. He'd almost rounded the corner when he heard something and turned to see two second years scampering out the portrait. They looked rushed, as if they'd only just gotten up.

"Wait a sec," Harry said, pushing Christine around the corner, and hiding with her, waiting. The two kids scuttled down the hall and stopped dead when Harry stepped out in front of them. "Hey, I need the password," he said as casually as possible. He knew the students, not by name, but by face, and they certainly knew who he was.

Both of them looked stricken. The little dark haired boy, who couldn't be half Harry's height, tried to step backwards but ended up tripping over his friends foot and fell on the floor. Harry reached down to help him up, but the boy scooted away from him instantly, as if he was afraid Harry was going to hurt him.

Harry straightened up. "What's wrong with him?" he asked the other boy, who was quivering.

"We..." the boy said, trembling even more. "We're not suppose to..."

Harry stared at him. "You're not suppose to give me the password?" he asked, disbelieving that he was being told it. "Why not?" he demanded, anger sprouting up again. He tried to kill it, but it wasn't something that was so easily dealt with.

The boy couldn't have looked more terrified. "I..." he said, stumbling over his words. "You..." he glanced towards Christine. "She..."

"I'm not allowed to bring her in?" Harry asked, trying to determine what the boy was saying. For some reason he seemed to be frightened of Harry. He didn't want to push the kid, but he did want an answer.

The boy shook his head.

"Alright," Harry said, trying to keep calm. "Why aren't you allowed to give me the password?" He was grating his teeth and clenching his fists, trying to keep his temper from flaring, and having a difficult time doing it. It really, really wasn't his day.

"Hermione," the other second year, who'd finally made it to a wall and was half-standing. He didn't seem quite so afraid now that he was a dozen feet from Harry, though he was staring at Harry's clenched fists a little fearfully. "She said that you had to get the password from a prefect or the headmaster before you were allowed back in. She made sure that everyone knew two nights ago."

"Did she ask why?" Harry growled, no longer even trying to contain the rage he was feeling. He was locked out of his own home, because Hermione was angry with him. That really, really didn't sit well with him.

Both boys shook their heads. "Did she say what would happen if you told me?" he demanded. Both nodded. "What was it then?!"

"Expelled," the boy next to him squeaked. "She went to every dorm room... and told everyone that you... weren't allowed in because you'd done some things that were against the rules. She said that you'd probably be mad, so we should just not talk to you at all."

Harry's fingers had dug so deep into his palms that small pools began to form under each of his hands as the blood dripped from his fists. Harry shook with frustrated rage and a nearby window exploded, coating the hall with broken pieces of glass. Without another word, Harry spun around and marched out of the hallway, leaving two second years lying on the ground, having fainted.

Christine took a hold of one of his hands as soon as they'd crossed into another hall. She touched it gently, making Harry cringe. "Stop," he said when she tried to dust away some of the pieces of glass. She pulled her hand back awkwardly, and stared at him.

"Master," she said quietly. Harry ignored her and started walking again, letting her catch up. His hands didn't hurt at all, what hurt was that Hermione had gone and done something like that to him. Until two days ago he'd thought of her as family, a sister he'd never had. Now he was cast out of his own house, and she'd done it. Another window exploded but Harry kept going. He didn't care as glass rained on top of him. None of it seemed to cut him, it was probably charmed to keep from cutting, but then, it was probably charmed from breaking as well.

He hoped Hermione would fall on the glass and cut herself up. She could end up in the hospital, hopefully for a long time. Harry wanted to pay a special visit to her and show her how happy he was that she had decided to determine the new boundaries of their friendship.

Another window exploded. Less glass fell this time, but the sound was louder, like a shotgun going off in the hallway.

"Master," Christine said after covering herself from the falling glass, "Are you alright?"

Another window exploded. It was like listening to a thunderstorm; a steady thrumming of noise from the rain, with intermittent bursts of thunder in the darkness. He knew now why some muggles called it the anger of the gods. He turned another corner, walking down a hallway that connected two parts of the castle, windows lining both sides. Before he even reached the windows they started cracking, spidering from the closest spot to him. As he passed by they exploded outward, he left the hall completely windowless, with Christine trying to keep up.

Ron had to have played a part in Hermione plan. She wouldn't have done it alone. While Ron wasn't the head-boy, that job had been given to a Ravenclaw, he was still a prefect, and the second years had told him he could get the password from one of the prefects. Harry stopped, shaking with anger, that meant that most of Gryffindor was probably against him. Hermione had had two days to bring them to her side; he'd been hiding the whole time. How Gryffindor was that?

There were no windows around, but there were several doors to classrooms. And the explosion literally rocked the castle as the doors blew from their hinges, breaking apart everything that stood in their way. Mrs. Norris, having heard what was going on came around the corner and hissed at him, giving Harry just enough time to raise his wand and send her on her way, her tail a ball of blue fire.

He never stopped, continuing down the halls. There were no secret passages or side halls; he marched straight down the stairwells, and into the dungeons. By the time he got there, he was much calmer. Christine had been completely quiet the whole time, Harry turned around, and with a quick snap of his wand she was cleansed. She hadn't been cut, but she was covered in splinters and glass shards.

"I'm sorry," Harry said quietly. "I just needed to do that so I didn't hurt anyone."

Christine just nodded, and hugged Harry tightly.

• Edited 2005.01.18 •

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Oh, one more thing, a favor,... Vekkel (or Iceman), a friend of mine, is looking for a fic. Here's the breakdown of it, I'd love to know if you know of it, or where it is - if you can help me find it I'll do something for you, maybe to do with the story, or another story. There are limitations, but I'm not sure what they are. So, let me know. 

I read a fic a while ago and could use some helping finding it. Harry is at #4 when a veela stops by to pay him a visit. I think the story starts from the Veela's point of view and Harry's house stands out to her because he's there. I want to say she was wounded buy I can't be sure. Either way she and Harry engage in some sexual activities.

The story moves to Hogwarts where a succubus and incubus reside. The succubus needs a recharge ever 5 years or else she'll fade away. Some foolish boy always seems to call on her and she takes what she needs. She's had her eye on Harry and Malfoy because they could provide her with the most substance. She checks on Harry but finds that he's been tainted by a veela and is unusable.

The story progresses with the veela, succubus, and incubus playing large parts. It's maybe 8 or 10 chapters i think. Does anyone have a link for it? I read it on and I'm worried that it might have gotten deleted during their recent rampage.

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BabyRuth:You have to be one of my strangest reviewers. Not that it's bad, or good, just... different. Sometimes you are a little creepy too, but I've got nothing against creepy. So you want a reason why to tell me your bra size? Well, can't come up with any good ones, so I guess you can keep it to yourself. Not as if I'm going to be seeing your knickers anytime soon anyway. It's nice to know you broke up with an asshole, really, I don't approve of assholes. Then again, I didn't know him except from what you mentioned about him, so I can't really say he's truly an asshole just sounds like one. 

Now, why do I only answer your reviews? Actually there are some valid reasons. The first is that most of the other reviews I get don't ask good questions, or even talk to me like a human being, they just say 'good' or 'great' or 'keep writing'. The reviewers that generally do leave long reviews I contact personally, or talk to them on my group - neither of which I can do with you, so the story is pretty much the only place I can answer any questions, or ask them.

The poem, as weird as it sounds, I think was meant as sarcasm, I said in the last chapter that I wanted more reviews and he gave me a review - and felt the need to try and rock the boat a little. It seem he likes boats, so I'm sure he'll, and hopefully you'll, understand the euphemism.

Oh, and if anyone asks, you can tell them that I'm already taken. Miss My-Oh-My seems to have stolen my heart away... she's very, astute and direct, and she really, really doesn't seem to like you. Ah well, I've been overruled I guess. If your friend wants to talk to me she'll have to go through the gal in the black dress standing in front of me. She'll cut your legs out from under you if you're not nice though. So, be careful.


	13. New Paths

I want to thank everyone for reviewing, I really am too tired to go through them one by one. However, I will address a few of them at the bottom. For those of you interested (and old enough) I have a yahoo group, where my chapters are posted before they're posted on you Traveler for helping me work out some of the kinks with some of my chapters, and for any of those interested **I'm looking for a beta.** Thanks. Enjoy!

Chapter 13  
• New Paths •

The door, blessedly, took the password and opened without difficulty. Harry was glad, because he knew he was probably angry enough to attack it if it hadn't opened.

He stepped into the quiet room, and moved towards the female dorms. There was movement, but whoever it was disappeared around the corner the moment Harry looked their way. "Christine," Harry said and Christine moved up beside him instead of trailing behind. "I apologize for not having breakfast, we'll go get something to eat in a little while, when people aren't around to bother us."

They waited in Blaise's bed for almost twenty minutes before she finally appeared. She looked a little troubled about something and was relieved to see Harry sitting on her bed. Her face was quick to take on an expressionless look, as if she'd not been worried about anything. Harry wasn't in the mood to mention it, but he was still a little angry about being locked out, and he was having trouble keeping his temper down. He didn't want Voldemort in his head, and though he hadn't felt the haze, he wasn't sure that it meant Voldemort was or wasn't there.

"Are we going to meet the Leviathans?" Harry asked once Blaise had turned on her normal face.

"There will be a slight delay." Blaise said. "There was quite a fight in the hallways. I wondered if you might have been a part of it."

"A fight?" Harry asked, wondering who had fought.

"The damaged the castle itself," Blaise said. "Knocked out two Gryffindor second years, not that that would have been too difficult, but they damaged several classrooms and some structural damage to most of the hallways leading away from the Gryffindor Tower."

Harry knew from her calculating look she believed he was a part of it. "Why do you think it was a fight?" Harry asked quickly.

"The sort of magic that was given off was destroying things with indestructible charms on them," Blaise said. "Granted they're old charms, but they're not that old, they're recast every few years. Magic that destroys them is either directly meant to do it, which it wasn't because of the sort of expansive damage that was done, or it's the result of a magical explosion – usually two spells striking one another."

"What if it was just anger?" Harry asked. "You know, like wandless magic, the sort you do when you get real emotional."

"Not of that magnitude. Besides, most witches or wizards don't do that sort of things after they've started going to some sort of schooling for their magic."

"I blew up my Aunt before third year," Harry said, "My wand was locked away when it happened."

"Are you saying it was you?" she asked, eyebrow quirked and a faint look of disbelief on her face. "You really did blow up the west half of Hogwarts?"

"I didn't blow it up," Harry defended. "I only blew out a few windows and a couple of doors."

"Merlin Harry!" she said, taking a step back. "Please don't tell me you always do that when you're angry."

Harry shook his head. Christine's head was in his lap and he was stroking it softly, keeping himself in check for the moment. It was much easier to stay focused when he was touching Christine in some way. "I only do stuff like that when I'm really angry or scared. I apparated once when I was younger because my cousin was chasing me. I didn't know I'd apparated; I simply appeared on the top of the school. It was quite scary since I was only seven or eight."

"What happened at Gryffindor towers?" Blaise asked, all pretenses gone. She was mystified, and curious now.

"Hermione locked me out," Harry said angrily. "Told everyone that they weren't allowed to give me the password."

Blaise blinked a few times, opened her mouth, closed it again, and then threw up her hands. "Remind me never to piss you off." She said, turning and walking out of the room. "I'll be back in a few minutes when we're ready for you," she added before closing the door.

Harry lay back, pulling Christine's head up to his chest. "Do you think I'm scary?" he asked, feeling a little afraid of what he was doing, of who he was becoming. What had really done it was Brandi telling him what had happened. What had Voldemort done to him, or was it even Voldemort? Was it something he'd done without Voldemort? Either way, why couldn't he remember doing it?

The door opened and Genevieve entered, looking sullen. Harry gently pushed Christine out of the way and stood up. "Hello Genevieve," he said as she approached. She seemed surprised to see him, or surprised that he knew her name. She dropped to one knee, spilling the books she'd been carrying.

Feeling comfortable with her at his feet, he stepped forward. "You are welcome in my bed anytime," he said, smiling. It took a moment, but he shook the thought away, angry at what he was telling her, but his anger made it seem right. "I feel the need to compliment you for your wonderful talents you displayed while with me. I was truly impressed by your... actions. I would like to discover more of your talents in the future."

It took a great deal of focus to keep from saying more. Harry wasn't sure if it was Voldemort this time, he was having difficulties feeling him and that made the fact that he was saying it even harder, because it might have really been him, been what he was becoming. A week before he wouldn't have imagined saying something so... thoughtless, so... lewd.

"I don't know what you have been told about me," Harry said, accepting that he was going to be saying something wrong, trying to maintain his dignity and courage while he did. It wasn't really that hard with Genevieve kneeling in front of him, it was more than just a confidence booster, it made it easier to be snide. "I don't want you to treat me any different though. I want to be treated normal, it makes things easier for me."

"Yes... Harry," she said, trying to make sure to say his name straightforward.

Harry leaned forward, and lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. "You may call me Potter if you like. Please don't bow to me though, it makes things difficult."

The Slytherin stared at him, but Harry couldn't help but notice the way her lips curved up in a slight smile, they looked absolutely wicked. He wanted to wrap his mouth around them, to kiss her. She'd slept with him already, but he hadn't kissed her, or Veranda, not mouth to mouth, they'd used their mouths for other things. He briefly wondered what would happen if they did kiss, if everything Brandi had told him was true. It might do more harm than good. If it had felt so good to Brandi he wondered how it had felt to him, the best he could figure that he had kissed her and gone on, only to be brought to the hospital by Blaise later in the evening. He still hadn't asked Blaise what had happened, but she hadn't volunteered the information either. Did that mean she wanted him to ask so that she could ask for something in return?

Pulling away from the temptation of her lips, Harry closed his eyes. "Thank you, for everything."

Genevieve smiled, in response and Harry had difficulty not smiling back. "It was my pleasure, I always wanted to find out what you were like in bed Harry."

"So you don't think I'm... him?" Harry asked, trying to determine what she meant.

"Even if you are, you are in Harry's body," she pointed out. "So I would know about how Harry is in bed."

Harry shook the thought away even though it was disturbing; he had after all, been in bed with Bellatrix, among others according to Voldemort, while he was inhabiting Harry body. He was disgusted by it, but he had no one to blame it on.

Blaise interrupted their conversation. She seemed a little disturbed to see Harry standing over a kneeling Genevieve, but she didn't say anything about it. "You're on Harry," she said, turning to leave. "I would hurry if I were you, you don't want to make them angry."

Harry stepped back, watching as Blaise left with mild resentment at how he was being treated. He was a guest, and he'd been invited before them, and yet it was them who were treating him with such little respect. He was looking toward Genevieve, who was still kneeling. "You may come with me," he stated, seeing that the girl was interested. He somehow knew it wasn't following proper protocol, that she should wait until the doors opened by themselves, allowing the Slytherins to come watch the judgments.

A glance towards Christine brought her bustling over to Harry; before she took his hand, he waved his wand and her outfit changed into something more fitting for a meeting. It was not more revealing or less revealing, just a different style. He looked to Genevieve, but decided it was best to let her make that decision. She took his other hand, but didn't ask for anything. He nodded, and followed Blaise through the doors.

The doors opened as he approached them, but he could see that others were peaking out of their dorm rooms, watching him march past with Genevieve and Christine at his back.

The common room was empty except for the far end. Somehow the room had extended by another dozen feet, and the Leviathans sat there, at the end of the room, in raised seats. The symbolism was not lost on Harry, sitting above the rest, in the darkness. The sides of their faces were the only things that were visible; they were otherwise cloaked in darkness. Harry could almost feel what it was like to sit there, above everyone else, with Leviathans on either side of him. He noticed then that they were in two groups of chairs, leaving a dark spot in the center. A chair perhaps? Harry squinted to try and make out some shape, but nothing was there. He knew that there should be something though, something just a little larger than the chairs that the other Leviathans sat in.

As Blaise stepped forward Harry's eyes darted to the companion chair, studying the little bit of features he could see. It took a moment, but he decided that it was most definitely Veranda, which meant the chairs on the other side were for the two males, two people he didn't know.

The side doors opened immediately, allowing for several Slytherins to enter the common room. Harry wondered why they'd been kept out, assuming that the Slytherins already knew whom the members of the Leviathans were, Brandi had. It was curious; the charade that was in place, but it also lent the Leviathans a sort of intrigue, which was another sort of power.

Still, Harry watched the other Slytherins as they filled the common room; the older one's found places in the seats while the younger ones sat on the floor. Not all the Slytherins were there, mostly younger students, but what did surprise him was Malfoy's presence. All he received from the boy was a long, loathsome stare, but Harry just smiled back as serenely as possible, knowing that Malfoy could do nothing to him.

"Harry Potter," a voice said, booming throughout the room. He couldn't tell which of them was speaking, but he didn't recognize the voice at all. "A request to accept you into the Slytherin rooms has been made, brought to the council by one of our own."

Harry nodded, his eyes narrowing, he looked out to the guests that were surrounding him and wondered how many of them realized how important this was, a Gryffindor in the Slytherin common room, and speaking to the Leviathans.

"I am here for that reason," Harry said simply. He wasn't going to lather them up, he didn't feel the need or desire to. There were other places he could go. Harry fought against himself, trying to say that if they were to accept his request he would be safe here, and more importantly, Christine would be safe. He needed to make sure that was known though. "Also to ask that not only I, but my property is also treated with respect."

"Property?" Another voice asked. There was very little difference in the voices, it was subtle, but Harry thought it just might be the tone. It spoke vaguely of surprise, though it was covered up.

"I have only a few belongings," Harry replied. "But I own a slave as well, and if I am to come here she must be treated as I would be." The whispers behind him were hushed, but there were many of them. Many of them must have assumed that what Hermione was screaming about during the fight had been nonsense or personal. He was surprised at how many of them seemed sheltered from the rumor though, there must have been more than one rumor going on around about him.

"Are we to assume that is a statement and not a request?" one of the voices asked. Harry wasn't sure if it was the same voice as the first one though. They must have been using some sort of magical spell to keep their voices from being identified, which was curious still.

"It is among the reasons I have returned here today," Harry said calmly, trying to keep his anger from showing. They didn't realize they were talking to him, someone they should fear, not tease. He was Harry Potter, the world knew him.

"Are there additional requests that you wish to have brought before the council then?"

Harry decided it would be best to just keep things basic; it made it a whole lot simpler. "No," he said. "I don't. The shelter of the Slytherin house for myself and my property is enough to ask."

"That it is," a voice said. Harry was almost positive that this was a third voice; it could have even been the fourth. "Your request has been noted and discussed in private, but the vote was split, so we brought it to council, to allow you to speak for yourself, support your request with something that might make the council receptive to your plea."

Harry gritted his teeth at how they were making fun of him from above, teasing him about their decision, making fun of his predicament. "It is not a plea," he said, bowing slightly so not to show the emotions on his face. "I was brought here for safety, because it is the least likely place where another would look for me. I have discovered that, while some of the Slytherins do not enjoy my presence, it is rather comfortable here and safe, as I said before." His eyes slid along those that were at the meeting, a few of them were people he knew well, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode. He seemed a little surprised to see them, he hadn't seen them at all in the dorm rooms, and he knew they were both seventh years, although Pansy had only barely made it into 7th year. It was a standing fact that Pansy was stupider than even Crabbe and Goyle, who had remarkably never had any difficulties in most classes except for potions, which a lot of people were horrid in.

He gave those who were watching him with contemptuous flares, a sweet smile, and returned his look to the Leviathans ahead of him. "It would be an honor to have the Slytherin house accept me as one of their own even if I was not sorted into their house. Difficulties in my own house have forced me to leave it, and when I returned today... for some of my personal effects, I discovered that I had been locked out of the house altogether."

"The council will note that the damage done to the castle was a result of this," one of the voices said, Harry smiled smugly, knowing that it was Blaise. He'd only just told her, and unless they could communicate without anyone else hearing them there was no way that the other already knew. A lot of people had startled looks, it had only just happened, but apparently new had traveled extremely fast, it seemed as if they all knew about it.

"Damage to the castle, was this not a result of fighting?'

Harry shook his had, his eyes roaming across them, waiting for them to make a mistake, do something that would give him the upper edge. The fact that they were letting him come was one of them, he couldn't believe that he was a Gryffindor and there. What he really needed was something to appease them, make them think it might be good to have him. He knew what he could do, but wasn't sure if he was willing to risk it.

"No, it wasn't," Harry said. "It was uncontrolled magic, I do it when I'm angry."

They didn't respond immediately, but Harry could see they were moving around just a little. He wondered if they could talk between themselves, it almost seemed as if that was what they were doing.

"What assurances do we have that you will not get angry and use this magic within the confines of our rooms or on one of the members of this house? You have already injured two of our own house during a previous incident only a week ago."

Injured? Harry knew what they meant, but he hadn't injured anyone, not really. Brandi had been hurt, but it was not exactly because of his kiss, it was because he'd pulled away. It occurred to him that he might have pulled away for a good reason, that it was possible that he'd known what was happening and pulled away before Brandi fell even further into it. Maybe he hadn't really meant to hurt her. And the Slytherin in the portrait, Travis, he seemed to want to be in the portrait. It was twisted, but somehow it all made sense in Harry's mind.

"What assurances would you like?" Harry shot back at them. He was not a Slytherin, he could have been, but he was not one of them, and did not know what he could offer them that would suffice. All they wanted was assurances, which was a little foolish, but good for him.

There was a lot he could offer, especially now that he'd been removed from the Gryffindor common room. A thought passed across his mind and he smiled wickedly. None of the Leviathans had spoken yet.

"A demonstration perhaps?" Harry asked. "Something to prove that I no longer have associations with my former house. Something that would prove your house better than them."

More silence, they may have been discussing something, Harry wasn't sure. He sneered after almost three minutes of silence. "Is this not a council? Why is it that you speak so little?"

"Mr. Potter," one of the voices snapped. "You would be well to stay quiet while we consider your offer."

Harry's nose flared and his eyes darkened. "While the Slytherin house is my most obvious choice, it is not my only one, nor would I have to give up so much to prove my worth."

"Mr. Potter," another of the voices snapped. "Another outburst like that and your request will be considered moot."

"Fools!" Harry roared angrily, no longer even speaking English. He rarely spoke in Parseltongue, but occasionally he did when he was angry, it helped to think and speak in different languages, and it usually turned people white when he did, especially those in the magical world. Right now it just sort of made sense though, as if it was something he should be doing.

No one spoke, even the quiet whispering that had been going on behind him had disappeared. It was as if there was no one there at all. He could actually hear the single intake of breath behind him.

"You sit before me acting as if you are better than me," he hissed. "Do not be so presumptuous."

"Mr. Potter," a voice said after several minutes. It was soft, not like it had been before, they were not angry. They seemed surprised, maybe startled. "We would appreciate it if you did not speak to us with such disrespect."

Harry blinked, unsure how to react. Had one of them understood him? Did they know what he said?

"It is unfortunate, but few within our house can understand the language, let alone speak it," the voices stopped. "We have determined that we will allow a demonstration if it proves that your allegiances no longer lay with the Gryffindors. Though, such things do not matter in the world, so we may require further... display of your loyalties. How is it you wish to show us your loyalties?"

"A gift," Harry said, wondering if it would be enough. It would be obvious enough how angry he was at his house. He determined that he would speak directly to the Leviathans again, so he focused, letting his anger bring out the snake inside. "While there may be some uproar within my house I am still captain of the Quidditch team," he hissed. "We have a match in two days, I will provide you with information that will allow you to win without difficulty, and I'll even insure that I allow the snitch to be caught, or will not catch it until your team has enough points to win."

There was a pause. A long pause and then a hiss came from the Leviathans, a long hiss of words. Harry wondered which of them spoke Parseltongue, but realized that none of them did immediately; It was something they were allowed to do because of the chairs they sat in. Salazar had done a great deal when establishing tradition within the houses.

I wondered whi"You did well to speak directly to us about this. While it would boost the morale a great deal within the house, the fact that it was given to use might disturb some of the younger members of the house, a little jumpy, which could likely bring a inquiry over the game. It is best that a few of us know, the others may suspect, but that is not enough."

There was a short pause this time, and the voices were English again. "Mr. Potter, you are hereby allowed within the Slytherin house until a formal hearing rescinds the order, or he abuses his privileges."

Harry couldn't help but smile. He didn't want to stay around for too long, but it was nice to know that he could return at any time.

He would have to attend the scheduled meeting of the Quidditch team, something he'd considered skipping, but that might make things easier, especially if he got Ron angrier. Ron was a great keeper, but fifth year had demonstrated how much his emotions affected him.

It was an hour later when the room finally emptied out. The Leviathans had disappeared into the darkness, and a little while later Harry could see Blaise flitting around the back of the room, making it obvious she was waiting to speak with him.

Harry and Christine followed her into the dorm rooms, which were empty.

"Why did you have to go and pull out the Parselmouth in front of us?" she asked with a sigh. "We were trying to squash the rumor with the younger students."

"Why?" Harry asked immediately, not wanting to respond.

"You don't understand the Slytherin traditions well enough to explain it simply," Blaise retorted. Harry stared at her. "I could have," he said, "if I had let the hat have its way."

"The ramifications of what you just did make things... difficult for us. You knew that, didn't you? You know so much sometimes that it's sickening to think you were ever anywhere else."

Harry smiled. "I don't plan on staying here tonight," he said, changing the subject. "Now that I have a safe place I need to do some things."

"Where do you plan on sleeping?" Blaise asked sarcastically. "A Hufflepuff bed?"

Harry thought about it, and nodded. A Hufflepuff bed sounded right just about now, he needed to make sure that not everyone was against him, and they were the best place to start.

"You don't like my bed?" Blaise asked glowering.

"I don't think it's a question of distaste," Harry answered, slipping his hand up Christine's back until he was fingering the edge of the color that had become a part of her skin. He could feel it there, tickling at his senses. "It's more of a question of you loathing men."

"That..." Blaise said angrily. "You think I want to hate men?" she demanded. "Your all so... disgusting sometimes. You think the world revolves around you."

Harry leaned forward and stared right into her eyes. "Doesn't it?" he asked, before turning away, pulling Christine along with him.

• Edited 2005.05.27 •

HG: If you're reading this... well I'm glad that you're still reading my stories. I really am sorry about what happened, and it's difficult for me not to be able to talk to you. I'm not sure why anymore, I think because it was sort of an addiction. Enjoy life though, and don't forget me.

Uten: Don't life Gryffindors? smirks I'm a... Hufflepuff for life – (so much easier to take control of the house). Harry will not exactly turn 'dark' but he's not going to be a golden boy anymore. And sooner, rather than later, Harry's going to lose Voldemort's influence and it'll all by himself. Voldemort is trying to create what he can. He knows Harry won't ever let himself be controlled, however, having him on the dark side could cause considerable panic in the wizarding world.

Frank Cadena: It's all about belief's, and which one's are stronger. In this story, Hermione's outright disgust at slavery is stronger than her friendship. She'll go even further later, but she's beginning to collapse in on the weight of everything, and that's what is that cause of her extreme nature later on.

Genma: Oh, there will be a clash, a very big one, just not quite yet.

Surarrin: I'm sure you're not. Generally (you wouldn't know it from this story) I like Hermione, and give her one of the strongest roles next to Harry. However, in this story it will not be so.

BabyRuth: laughs. Nix keeps my busy sometimes, but then, well, sometimes she gets really angry at me and that gets me even more frustrated. You know, I still find your reviews extremely amusing and enjoy reading them... As for any extreme comments, they're meant as sarcasm (seeing as they're dripping with it) which means they're meant to be taking very lightly. Don't be sad about being a 'different' reviewer, I don't have many, and I always enjoy their reviews more.

Supreme Gamma: Thanks for the comments, I don't usually write anti!hermione, but it's the way the story went, and I'm running with it. Besides, I don't see Hermione exactly happy with Harry when he starts sleeping around, and er... other things that'll happen soon.

Dragon Sword Master: I may bring Genevieve back, but no major roles at all.

bLacKBodian: my stories generally leave people in the dark until the time comes, give people nibbles of ideas and scenes, but not until the right time. Everything will get explained, but it happens over time.

timydamonkey: I like Hermione, really, I just didn't write her as a strong support!harry role in this fic. And Ron's so explosive that when faced with everything he was, I don't see it going any differently, it's exactly how he acts in the books. Ron's angry, and that's why he's convinced Harry's being bad. It's the same thing with him not believing Harry during the TriWizard tournament, plus Hermione has some thoughts on it that haven't been brought out yet, thoughts that may ... well they're making Ron see Harry a little differently. The Bella stuff will get a little more intensive, but it's still going to be several chapters before it does. Thanks for reading, hoped you liked this chapter.


	14. Questions

I'm looking for a name for this chapter, and I'd like any errors to be pointed out since I don't have a beta yet. That is part of the reason this chapter took so long, because I really didn't want to release it without someone going over it – I hate badly written chapters – and so I kept this locked away for a long time. There were other reasons too of course, some much bigger than a beta. Anyway, let me know what you think.

Chapter 14  
• Questions •

Outside, in the common room, most of the younger students dropped their eyes as soon as he looked their way. They seemed to have some sort of respect for him, but it was fear-induced respect, likely due to the fact that he'd spoken the language of their house. Though Blaise hadn't told him why, he somehow understood that even his presence commanded authority now.

He moved into the shadows of the room, listening to the students come and go from their classes. He knew he should probably go to his, but he didn't want to yet, not until Christine was fully ready, and the blood between he and his former friends had begun to boil down. That was going to take a long time, so he might have to do some studying on his own. He'd have to ask Blaise for the notes to the classes, since they were in a lot of the same ones, if not more of them.

Brandi appeared out of a door that hadn't existed before and moved across the room with fluid grace. She didn't see Harry watching her, even though he wasn't concealed very well. Neither did Malfoy who, upon seeing her, moved to intercept. Harry shifted his position slightly, managing not to be seen as he moved within hearing distance.

It was difficult not to laugh, it was like watching a mouse try and tame a cat. Of course, the mouse was longer, much more like a ferret, and had an air of superiority about it. However, things just don't work when dealing with someone that was clearly of a different, and much lower, species. Harry couldn't help but snort quietly when Malfoy suggested to her, quietly, that they attend the next trip to Hogsmeade together.

It was then, when her eyes became angry slits, that Harry chose to move forward and stop the little meeting. He didn't know Brandi that well, but he felt he owed her, and he certainly would like to make Malfoy angrier now that the platinum haired boy couldn't do anything to him. "Brandi," he said cheerfully. "I was thinking of staying around the castle next trip to Hogsmeade. Would you care to keep me company?"

Brandi rounded on him, stared for a second and then smiled brightly. She turned back to Malfoy after a nod. Truth-be-told, Harry wasn't even sure when the next Hogsmeade trip was. It had to be a few weeks away at least, but it really didn't matter; he went to Hogsmeade whenever he wanted, and no one knew any better except for Tonks, and she had sworn not to tell anyone about it as long as she was with him.

"Well," Harry said brightly as she strolled away, leaving Malfoy standing in front of Harry slowly turning magenta. "I trust that that clears things up." Any anger he'd had earlier was completely drowned out as he watched Malfoy's agitation grow. Harry grinned in return, not really worrying about what was going to happen.

"Potter!" Malfoy growled angrily. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Being entertained at present," Harry said smugly, watching Brandi stroll away. He found it flattering when she glanced back at him and smiled. However, Malfoy decided that he didn't like being dismissed so easily and raised his wand. Harry immediately shifted his focus back to his enemy.

"You do know, Malfoy, that girls respond much better to people that don't smell of rats, right?" Harry said, amused that Malfoy was threatening him.

Another throaty growl came from Malfoy, this one sounding particularly heinous. "Draco, do tell me, what happened with your cronies Twiddle Dee Dumb and Twiddle Dee Dumber?" Harry asked, noticing for the first time that neither of them was anywhere near. Without them Malfoy seemed almost... ordinary, like another student at the school.

Malfoy blinked, the reference making no sense to him, but he did get the point and it wasn't long before he was shaking with rage.

"You should know," he growled ominously, or at least as ominous as was possible for Malfoy. "They're doing things for the Leviathans, something for the new _guest_ that's been given the privilege to enter the Slytherin common room."

Harry smirked. He was quite happy that the Leviathans had given him approval to stay and that Malfoy hated the thought of it. Even though he didn't plan to it just made things more fun.

"Well, it's good to know that everyone loves me here." Harry teased, waiting for Malfoy to rebel. He'd been quite surprised to find out that Malfoy wasn't one of the Leviathans that controlled everything and was curious to know who the two males that had been hidden were.

He assumed it was likely someone he'd never met face to face, since the only times he'd seen Blaise before today was in classes, and she had been quite the recluse most of the time. Even though she'd made a name for herself over the past year it was only a name and rumors.

Then there was Veranda who he'd never met at all, and given her size, he was quite surprised. Even though she'd been held back from graduating she was in 7th year now, which meant that it was likely that she was in at least one or two of Harry's classes, and yet he couldn't recall ever seeing her. He'd have to ask her about that sometime.

"Don't worry about it too much _Draco_, I don't plan on staying around for too long. I wouldn't want to get used to looking at your face; it might permanently taint any positive views of Slytherin that have been forming."

"Christine," Harry said, and the woman, who'd been waiting at the edge of the room moved forward, following behind him. Three younger Slytherins saw him coming and scooted out of the way, not forgoing a long stare. When he returned it they looked down and kept their eyes glued to the ground.

"Where do you want to go Christine, are you hungry?"

Almost immediately Harry felt a presence, like someone was standing there next to him and he turned to look who it was. Crabbe had simply appeared out of thin air, towering over him. Harry blinked away his surprise and noticed that Goyle wasn't far off, standing in a darkened doorway. Malfoy seemed shocked to see the both of them as well, as he had his mouth open.

"You are not supposed to do that," Crabbe said slowly. Harry looked at Malfoy again, and then to Crabbe, noticing that his wand was in hand and pointed, oddly enough, at Malfoy.

"Out of the way Crabbe," Malfoy hissed, raising his wand again.

However Crabbe wasn't listening, he simply stood there, overshadowing Harry, like a monolith. Goyle moved forward stepping next to his friend. "They have said he is not to be harmed," Goyle said, his words crisp but still relatively slow, and Harry wasn't sure if he was stupid, or if he was trying to make a point with Malfoy.

"He goaded me," Malfoy snapped, not ready to lay his wand down, but facing his two former bodyguards, he seemed to be rethinking his actions.

Harry was completely astonished. He'd always thought of Crabbe and Goyle as peons who did exactly what Malfoy asked, but it seemed that the Leviathans had more sway than Malfoy did.

"They do not care. He is not overstepping his bounds."

Crabbe turned to Harry, stared at him for a moment and then made a motion with his hands. "You may go," he said, "Draco will not harm you."

Doing as Crabbe suggested, Harry found it almost impossible to walk, at least without Christine leading him along, since she had no idea exactly how odd it was for that scene to have happened.

In the hallways, after they'd walked for a while, Harry finally regained the ability to speak. He looked to Christine and noticed that she was slightly shaken up by the encounter and he stopped thinking about how odd it was, and focused on her. "Do you not like Malfoy?" he asked.

"He... reminds me of someone," Christine said quietly. "Not when I first met him, but now he does, and it's frightening."

"Do you remember what I first told you about him?" Harry asked, and Christine nodded. "Well, if he gives you any trouble at all I'll make sure he gets what's coming to him. He's quite a pest and I've been waiting for a good reason to duel him for a long time."

The memory of dueling Malfoy in his second year entered his mind; the snake that had caused so much trouble was the most pressing though. If only he had known he wouldn't have done it, but everything was said and done now. Maybe next time he'd conjure dozens of snakes and set them on Malfoy, see what happened to the boy. He was a Slytherin after all; he should feel comfortable surrounded by snakes.

That was not right, Harry thought to himself. Not all Slytherins were bad, Brandi seemed to be quite upfront, and so did Blaise, though they had completely different methods of accomplishing the same feat. Many of the younger students didn't seem nearly as devious and evil as Malfoy did.

The door slid open and Harry walked into the dungeon's halls, followed closely by Christine. It was the afternoon, so there was not likely any food in the great hall, which meant that the only way of procuring food would be to go straight to the source.

It took a few minutes roaming the halls and Harry had to wonder what he was missing in his classes. It was Tuesday, which meant he should be going to Care of Magical Creatures, but he was sure that Hagrid would let him off if he sent a message and stopped by later; the giant let him get away with just about anything.

They approached the portrait and Harry reached up to tickle the pear while Christine watched. When the doorway appeared she let out a small oomph of surprise, but followed Harry in. It took longer than normal for the elves to swarm, and Harry absentmindedly noted that there was no Dobby within the crowd.

"We'd like some sandwiches," Harry said quietly, "and some pumpkin juice."

Instantly, two elves trotted up with a platter of food and drinks. Christine was watching them with utter amazement as Harry found a place to sit. "These are the elves of Hogwarts," Harry explained. "They're a bit like slaves, at least according to Hermione, but they do their job because they enjoy it, and they're very good at it."

Several of the elves nodded quickly, and he noticed that a few of them had sour expressions when he had mentioned Hermione, but were happy to hear him say they were good at their jobs. He pointed a few of them out that he knew from his constant visits to Dobby, giving Christine their names. All of them seemed quite proud to be singled out, and puffed up a little as they went back to doing whatever it was they were doing. Christine tried one of the sandwiches, then, when she'd determined that it tasted good, she wolfed it down. Harry poured her some pumpkin juice and she drank it down just as quickly.

"You don't have to eat so fast," Harry commented, and Christine stopped altogether, looking up at Harry who had yet to touch his food.

"I am sorry Master," she said quickly dropping her food, "I didn't let you eat first."

Harry laughed and shook his head. He was a little hungry, but so many other things occupying his mind, so food wasn't his first priority. "No Christine, it's not that. I want you to eat. I was just telling you that you didn't have to eat so fast, if you want more they can bring it, and we can stay here for as long as it takes for you to fill up. I'm trying to determine if I want to return to the Slytherin common rooms or go somewhere else."

Christine looked at her food awkwardly, as if trying to determine if she should start eating again.

"Eat," Harry commanded, seeing her pause. "I want you to be in good health and if you don't eat you won't be."

Finally returning to her food, Christine took it a little slower; finishing off the sandwich in twice the time it had taken her to eat the first half. She actually chewed it up before swallowing. Harry took a few bites of his, still wondering where they should go. He hadn't met up with Tonks again so he was worried if he wandered around for too long she'd appear and follow him like another servant, and he really had his hands full with just one of them.

After the way he'd been refused at Gryffindor Tower, he knew he wasn't going to go back there for at least a few days. Rules be dammed, he didn't want to deal with Hermione and her attitude. Locking him out of the common room had really done it for him, and he no longer was even wondering if he should try and salvage their friendship.

That left the other three houses. He was sure he could get into any one of them right now. Luna was still his friend, she'd been Ginny's friend, and he was sure she wouldn't see the fact that he had a slave as something that was completely idiotic or immoral. She wasn't the sort of person that had a normal perspective on things. And he knew at least Susan was still his friend, after passing her in the hall earlier he had been happy to get such a good response from her. It was nice to know that the Hufflepuffs hadn't turned their back on him altogether.

He had another idea though, at least until classes were over, something that would benefit both he and Christine. He finished off his pumpkin juice and Christine immediately poured him another cup before he could say a word. Her sandwiches had disappeared almost completely, and Harry decided that the Room of Requirements would be the best place for now. The DA still met there periodically, but after what had happened he knew that they wouldn't find a prolonged meeting unusual. Besides, N.E.W.T.s were coming up in a few months, and O.W.L.s for the fifth years, the DA had already been warned that they wouldn't be meeting as much during that time.

As he stood an elf appeared and took the platters, disappearing into the back rooms with them. He saw the elves glancing his way with happy faces. He smiled back and thanked the kitchen as a whole before leaving.

"You told me about Dragons and Unicorns before," Christine said once they were outside, "but how many other sorts of magical creatures are there?"

Harry smiled. He remembered he and Tonks going over some of the things two nights before, when they'd slept in Firenze's Forest, but they really hadn't gone into too much depth; there was simply too much to go over. "Oh, hundreds of different things," Harry said. "Hagrid, the gamekeeper, is a half-giant and he's got a half-brother, Grawp, who's a real giant, though he's a little short for his species. He's got a three-headed dog that's twice as tall as I am. He happens to love all sorts of creatures. I've had run-ins with werewolves in the forest, and spiders that are the size of elephants. There are vampires too, and banshees, shrews, hags, mermaids... though the ones here aren't the fairy-tale mermaids that you see in storybooks, they're quite dreadful looking. If you've heard about it in legend it's probably something that exists or has existed.

"Trolls, like in the books I read when I was younger? And Goblins?"

"Yes, both. They're a little different than what you read about in storybooks because muggles haven't seen them in ages, so they create fantasies about them."

Christine smiled. "I always wanted to see a goblin; they sounded so fascinating."

"They're not, not really," Harry said, remembering his first time he'd seen a goblin. It had startled him, but he'd only learned about being a wizard just hours before seeing them. At least she'd have some time to prepare for them. "They're definitely different, but they're fierce too, and very concerned about money. They run the only wizarding banks in the world."

"You have banks?" Christine asked. "Do you have money?"

"It's not like muggle money, but of course we do."

"No," Christine said, slowing. "Do _you_ have money?"

The question surprised Harry a little bit. He supposed it was because no one had ever asked him. He wasn't sure exactly how to answer though. He was rich, filthy rich. He had received both his parents inheritance and the black inheritance as Sirius' last request. Only a few people even knew about it, including Dumbledore, who had insisted on being present at the reading of the will.

At some point years and years ago, the Black family had been given the prestige of becoming Duke of Tarrant by King Edward III. His mistress, Alice Perrers, being a prominent member of his court and also the daughter of an Earl Black (only known to those who had an understanding of the magical world) had convinced the king to do so.

Apparently, not long after she had been accused of witchcraft, and to avoid being found out, the king's memory had been altered and the town wiped from existence. The town had gone unchanged since, a place that was completely outside of the normal realm in some sense. Muggles still resided there, living their lives as they had for hundreds of years, not realizing the changes that had gone on around them. So, Harry became Harry James Potter-Black, Duke of Tarrant.

The problem was that Harry didn't know exactly what to do with them. The ministry had denied its existence ages before, because the Black family had not paid taxes on it, and so it had become a vacuum of space, uncharted, unwanted, a black hole in the English countryside. They were quite self-sufficient, and though generally poor, they were happy in a way that few could understand. Dumbledore had been trying to bring the village back into the world, but Harry hadn't allowed it, he wasn't sure it was the best thing for them.

He had visited once, during a weekend the other students had gone off to Hogsmeade. He'd been met like a king, somehow they'd known he was coming. Of course, he never told anyone else, Hermione would go ballistic about a whole town of people that were more like slaves than people – and this had been his thoughts long before she found out about Christine.

It was nice there, somewhat repressed, but much different than the outside world. The people there, muggle or magical, knew of magic, they had come to accept it, and accept their roles in life. The few magical people that lived there were educated there and rarely traveled. Generally they became leaders of the community, but rarely did they leave, and even more rarely was one who did not return and try to forget the outside world.

The Blacks had not forgotten, they had held the town and its inhabitance as a cherished piece of property, the secrets of it passed on only to the heir. Harry had been considering it a place to disappear to, a place where he could live with magic, but away from the wizarding world, a haven of sorts.

Sighing, he looked at Christine and smiled. "Yes," he said finally. "I have enough money that you never need to worry about anything."

"You do not act as such, is money plentiful in this magical world?"

Harry looked up at her, and remembered she'd come from a family that was well off. "No, I don't know all about it, but I know that people are people, magical or not, and just like in the muggle world some people are rich and some are poor, it is simply the way things are done."

The defiant attitude he had about it caused Christine to shrink apologetically. "I am sorry master," she said, bowing before him as if she had wronged him immensely. "I have offended you."

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable at her presence, Harry took her hand and pulled her to her feet. "No, it's not your fault. I just hate what I have sometimes. Everything about my life, from the beginning has been screwed up. I have more than most people can imagine, and sometimes it feels as if I have nothing at all."

Gripping her hand like a life preserver, Harry headed straight towards the Room of Requirements.

•

I'm not much in the mood to answer questions. If you really need to know something, ask on my group, if you can get in.


	15. Floating About

Alright, since apparently someone (who shall remain unnamed) was handing out my chapters that were unbeta'd, I decided to release this before I bothered to start reposting. The story will soon turn into a single chapter and I'll restart a different story that will be a rewrite, something I'll spend some time on to make sure it flows a lot better.

This story was written in about a week, and I never got back to writing any more of it, all these chapters I had I was going to save for the rewrite, but since I'll probably be doing more extensive then a thorough edit, I'll just post them now and see what people think. Originally this mess was chapters 15 - 20 or so and it's been edited sort of by several different people, but all the edits got confused, and so there may be errors (and probably is) throughout the document. I really don't care much at the moment and am simply posting so that everyone else can see what I had written.

As for the rewrite. I will need beta's and people who have ideas. I'm looking to make a darker story, and try and make a believable path for Harry turning dark. Email me, Mehetabelo at or contact me via aim or yahoo, they're both on my profile.

Anyway, here it is. Review, leave me some sort of idea of what you did or didn't like about it, I'm trying to work out kinks, and it's a lot easier to do when people point the good and bad.

Chapter 15  
• Floating About •

They started up again quietly and made it all the way to the doorway without disturbing anyone. Harry focused, and then paced back and forth past the door, with Christine following along quietly. She imitated what he was doing and was quite surprised when the doorway suddenly appeared.

"This is my favorite place in the castle." Harry said, pushing open the door. The room was significantly different than when he'd last entered. It acted as if it were having trouble deciding exactly what he wanted, and had instead split the room in half, a darker half, with dark shades of grey on one side, and maroon on the other. There were even two separate beds. Glancing at Christine, Harry wondered if she had wanted something darker, however he wasn't sure which one he liked more so he wasn't sure which he'd picked.

"Christine, did you want this place to be something?" he asked finally, giving up trying to determine which side he'd wanted.

She shook her head. "Why do you like this room most? Is it because it's two rooms in one?"

Harry shook his head and concentrated. He'd been practicing this over the past year, although he hadn't done it too often, he'd been trying his hand at preparing for Voldemort. He'd tried a few times but he couldn't muster up enough motivation to do it; his friends had kept him do other things and Quidditch had kept him busy as well.

The room melted away leaving the barest of rooms with human like figures standing on one side. They were unmoving at the moment, but as soon as he'd fire a curse at them, they'd begin to move. The room was padded like the pictures he'd seen at the (cinemas)? and he knew it would absorb most of the curses. There was nothing else in the room, though Harry noted it was a bit darker than it had been the last time he'd practiced.

Concentrating again, the room melted away again and turned into a meeting room that was much smaller than the dueling room. A table stretched out in front of Harry and chairs bubbled up from the ground.

"This room is likely the most magical room in the whole castle; it will literally do what I ask of it. You can want a kitchen—" the room melted away again and cabinets formed, then sinks and stoves. Before it had even finished it began to melt away again. "— A living room —" couches sprang from the dissolving cabinets, and tables lined around them. "— A study—" the couches changed form, many of them melting upward into bookcases and books. Tables became desks.

Christine was watching the place change over and over again, saying nothing until the books appeared. "Master," she said quickly, "may I look at them before you make them leave?"

Harry smiled and concentrated, perfecting the room; he was feeling distinctly moody and felt the dark grey room fit him much better for the time being, so the carpeting changed, the bed appeared along one wall but the bookshelves stayed, allowing Christine her wish. A small table appeared near the end of the room, containing quills and scrolls, and booklets of paper. Christine followed his glance and walked to the table, examining the quill and then the scrolls. "I've never written with anything other than a pen." She admitted as she dipped the quill into ink. She wrote out a few words on the bit of parchment and smiled. "It doesn't seem so hard though, writing with one of these."

Shrugging, Harry stepped towards an empty spot in the room, where a chair rose from the ground. He sat and watched quietly as Christine walked through the books with her hands. She seemed to want to touch every spine and read every title one at a time. "I've always loved books; my great grandmum had an enormous library of books she collected. She would show them to me when I was really young, tell me stories about how she'd gotten them. I didn't always believe her, because they sounded so magical that it couldn't possibly be true... but now, now I see that maybe she was right."

A bell resounded through the halls twenty minutes later signaling the end of classes. Harry, who'd been trying to put his mind into a calm state staring at a wall focusing on a dot, sighed and stood.

Christine was busy in the corner, reading something; she'd noticed the bell as well though, because she was only just getting back to the book, ignoring the chiming for the most part.

Harry watched her as she read intently, smiling and frowning, taking notes on a piece of parchment. She seemed to enjoy the book, whatever it was, and Harry decided that it might be best to allow her to stay here.

"Do you want to stay here while I go find someone?" he asked. Christine looked up and shook her head, putting the book down immediately.

"I am your servant master. You may order me to do as you wish but this place is frightening alone."

Daunting. Daunting was a much better word, but Harry let it slide. He understood her feelings though; he hadn't been alone at all his first year and it had still been such an intense place. Fighting a troll and running into a gigantic three-headed dog hadn't helped, but then he was sure he would have felt the same way even if they hadn't been present.

"Come on then," Harry said, "let's go find somewhere else to bunk tonight and find out what sort of things have been going around. Blaise never brought up the rumors that I'm sure are circulating, and I do need to make sure that I'm seen or they might make a big deal about it and send out a search party or something."

Knowing Dumbledore, Harry didn't think he was being the least bit sarcastic, Dumbledore would find him, no matter what corner of the castle he was staying in. The room of Requirements wouldn't be a very safe room, since he already knew where it was located. Christine just followed along; Harry left the room and her writing, hoping that no one would disturb it before they returned. He'd been considering using the room as a safe place for the nights, but then, he wasn't going to be happy if someone just waltzed in on him, especially if he wasn't up to it. He truthfully doubted that anyone would be able to make sense of everything, but some would be enough.

Purposefully Harry avoided the main hallways, even taking some of the secret passages through the castle until he was standing behind a curtain down the hall from the Hufflepuff common room. Since classes were over for the evening he assumed someone he knew from Hufflepuff would eventually walk past him.

Harry noticed that a few of the older groups had started to filter in after three groups of young Hufflepuffs, intent on getting to their common room fast, passed by. They seemed slower, taking their time instead of hurrying everywhere. It occurred to him that the school was a lot like that, and that as students got older they slowed down, let things happen and watched them instead of hurrying not to miss.

Hannah appeared, with two other Hufflepuffs. Ernie McMillan was the only one Harry knew, the other person he recognized, but she hadn't really spoken with him.

"Hannah," he whispered, moving out of the curtain, trying not to startle them too bad.

She stopped, and was quite taken by the way he appeared, as if he'd simply stepped out of thin air. She smiled when she realized who it was. "Harry!" she said happily and then glanced around. "I thought you were being followed by a woman, the one that Hermione was angry about."

Harry held out his hand and Christine moved forward from the curtain, taking it. She shrank a little behind him, as if using him for protection.

"Hannah, meet Christine," he said, pulling Christine forward. He was going to make her get used to others so that she wasn't always shrinking away. "Christine," he said quietly, but his voice carried strong authority, and she moved forward as if commanded, "this is Hannah Abbott, a good friend of mine."

Hannah blushed as Christine offered her hand shakily. "This," Harry said, pointing out Ernie, "is Ernie McMillan, another friend of mine."

Pausing for a second, Harry looked at the third member. "I don't recall your name, I'm sorry. I know you though; you're in potions with me this year." She nodded shyly.

"That's Megan Jones," Hannah explained, after shaking Christine's hand. "She doesn't speak because she carry's a family curse that prevents her from speaking without causing... difficulties, most of the time we just tell people she's a mute."

"A curse?" Harry asked, curious. He'd heard of curses that passed through family lines, but never had he actually seen one that was still happening. He smiled, "That's alright. She doesn't have to talk; she's pretty enough even without saying anything."

He didn't really mean for it to come out the way it had, but it was true; she was very pretty in her own way. She wasn't Cho pretty though, or his mum pretty; they were the sort of people that were photographed and put on cover pages. She was the sort of pretty he had begun to like during his sixth year, the sort that he was comfortable around. It did bring a blush and a shy smile. "Good," Harry said, delighted. "Christine, this is Megan, my new friend. Megan, my... well, this is Christine."

"Is she really a slave?" Ernie said, watching Christine with an intense look. "Hermione is going about the castle trying to tell people you're enslaving women."

Harry laughed, he couldn't help it. iI just seemed so funny now, that the only friendship he'd ever had that had lasted through it all, without a single fight, was suddenly against him.

"She said you cursed her too," Ernie said, staring at Harry, looking astonished. "And Ron, he said that you did do it, at the Breakfast Brawl—"

"The Breakfast Brawl?"

"The fight that we had the other morning, the one that you started."

"Me?" Harry asked, surprised. "The morning Hermione marched in on me while I was eating breakfast and screamed at me in front of the whole Great Hall?"

"Yes." Hannah said. "You mean you haven't heard any of the rumors at all? After what happened with the Slytherin girl and the Slytherin boy that's gone missing? Then, the Breakfast Brawl — the fight that happened in the Great Hall the morning you, Ron and Hermione broke your friendship, and you disappearing. Everyone is trying to figure out what's been going on with you. Not to mention the rumor that the girl with you is a slave, Hermione made sure that _everyone_ heard that one."

"She is a slave," Harry said. "I don't think it's something I want to discuss in the hallway though; I can explain it in greater detail when we're somewhere that's a little more private."

Hannah stared; she didn't seem to have any words to respond. Ernie had blinked, and continued to look Christine over, taking her in like a new broomstick. Harry almost said something, but decided to keep it to himself until he could speak with Ernie in private, hoping that he would realize his mistake before then. Megan was the only one to react. She took Harry's hand, and with her other hand took Christine, pulling them along behind her.

They followed a short set of stairs down to a single door, with two knights guarding it. Megan reached forward and placed her hand inside the knight's. It moved and then dropped to one knee, sword pressed against the ground. To the right of him, another door appeared in the wall. Hannah hurried forward and pulled it open. "I'm sorry for being so rude," she said quickly, "I was just so surprised; you sort of caught me unaware. Megan's right though. It might be best to talk about it inside the common room; we've got some private studies set up for use that might work out alright."

Ernie nodded and took the position of last as everyone entered the door. The common room was plush; Harry might have sworn he'd just walked into a room of pillows, all of them bright pastel colors. He almost squinted because of how bright the room seemed. Several chattering Hufflepuffs stopped when he entered and stared at him in surprise. All of them recognized him immediately and Susan, who'd somehow gotten past Harry already, stood and walked forward to meet him, a smile on her face.

After hugging Harry she let go and moved to Christine. "This is her?" she asked Harry, "the slave girl that everyone's been chattering on about for the last two days?"

Harry's eyes drifted past her and to everyone else, the whole room was watching intently.

"Alright," he said loudly. "I'm going to clear this up right now, so that there will be no more rumors. Christine, please address her by her name, is my slave, yes. I don't want to hear anyone saying I said she was a sex-slave or some sort of fantasy girl. She was given to me, as a present, though I'm not sure who it was yet, or why exactly she was given to me. Even being that she's a slave, I don't want anyone to disrespect her in the slightest, because that would be disrespecting me. The choice was not entirely mine either; she chose this position for whatever reason, and I'll ask that you not try and question her about her reasons. I understand that sometimes things are painful to bring up, but not this. I did not purposefully do this, nor do I intend to do it to anyone else. One was enough, if not too many."

Hannah pinched him from behind. "Right," Harry said. "I haven't heard all the rumors that have been circulating about me lately, but most of them are either severely skewed or they're utter lies. I'd like to try and defend myself against them, but I don't know what they all are and a few of them I'm not so sure are lies either. I have to get some things straightened out and once I've done that, I'll tell any of you that would like to know about the rumors, and ask that you let others know about them. For obvious reasons I've been avoiding the throng of people; Christine finds it difficult to be around too many people at once, and she's a muggle, so she's only just learning about magic in general. Some of you muggle-borns might understand what she's going through."

That about did it, no one spoke at all. Hannah just moved forward, and Megan took Harry's hand again, leading him past all the students and pillow chairs that looked unbelievably soft.

"Harry might be staying here for a little while," Hannah announced, standing just outside a doorway. "I'm sure you'll understand his need for privacy, so please don't go telling anyone that he's here at the moment."

All of them seemed to nod in synchronization. Harry wondered how many of them believed him, and how many were just going along with the group. He knew time would tell and he wasn't all that worried about it.

Susan was sitting on a chair that looked more like a beanbag than it did a chair. There was a table in front of her that was no more than a foot off the ground. Harry was a little confused about it, but didn't say anything.

Justin Finch-Fletchley came into the room, and then Zacharias Smith appeared, sporting a delighted grin. He spoke even before the door closed, apparently finding it amusing that there were so many people talking about Harry. "I've got to hand it to you Harry," He said with a chuckle. "I've not seen such odd rumors spread about anyone like they spread about you. Sometimes I think that it's a curse or something." His eyes drifted to Megan who was ignoring him altogether.

"So what are the rumors? The ones that could be possible," Harry said while Hannah shut the door. She smiled at him, and then offered him a double seat. Of course, Harry plopped down into it and pulled Christine down with him. Megan found a seat nearby because the one next to him had already been occupied by Hannah.

"There's one about you killing students," offered Justin. "They say that several Slytherins have gone missing, and you're the reason it's been happening."

"I haven't killed anyone as far as I know," Harry said in a half joking manner, hoping it was true. Since he couldn't remember what he'd done, and he knew that some of the things he'd done already were pretty bad, he wasn't going to rule out the possibility that he'd killed someone. Although, he was going to find that one out for himself, and not let anyone else know he was worried about it.

"A lot of people have been told you've been attacking students. Sometimes it's just Slytherins, but it depends on the rumor. Sometimes it's all students," Susan offered, her strawberry red hair bobbing as she sunk into another one of the chairs directly across from him.

Pausing, Harry tried to determine how to best answer the questions since he didn't know exactly how true it was. He did know he'd attacked at least two students, both Slytherins. "I got in a fight with some Slytherins," he said slowly. "I kissed one of them too, apparently that didn't go over too well."

Everyone chuckled except Christine, who just cuddled closer to Harry. He stroked her softly, running his hands through her hair, it was becoming a bit of a habit already, even though he didn't realize it. "I did hurt her a little, when I kissed her. There was something magical that happened, something I don't quite understand. She said it was like the kiss was good enough to be addictive, but when I pulled away it hurt her. I'm not sure exactly what it was that happened though. As for the others, I only defended myself when they attacked me."

"You're saying that you talked to the girl, after you kissed her?"

Harry shook his head. "We discussed it last night."

"So you've been sleeping with other girls? Was she one of them?" Hannah asked as soon as he had finished speaking. She seemed demanding, almost angry about it.

"Well, I knew I didn't have much of a personal life," Harry said quietly, focusing on stroking Christine's hair for a second. "I didn't know that everything I did required some sort of explanation." Hannah turned pink, but Harry closed his eyes, trying to be himself, not whatever he was turning into. "I've had sex once in my life, for those interested in knowing. In addition, no, the girl who I kissed wasn't there at the time. Besides, at the time I wasn't really in control of what was happening, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have done it if I had been."

He knew he wasn't in control now, or at least not in full control. Somehow Voldemort was making him do things, things he wouldn't normally do. Christine wasn't the reason though, because apparently he'd done them even before she showed up. What he really wanted to know was how to stop it from happening again. He didn't want to lose control and do something he'd really regret later on.

"Come on Potter, tell us who it was," Zacharias Smith said, grinning like a maniac. "Was it good? Did she dump you right afterwards? It wasn't your slave, was it? You said she wasn't a sex slave."

Zacharias, for all his misgivings, was a good guy, Harry knew that, so he let the eagerness slide. He'd known Zacharias since the first DA meeting in Hogsmeade, and he knew that it was just the sort of person Zacharias was, something Harry had grown to accept.

"Well both of them had to sleep it off afterward," he snapped, still irritated that Zacharias was pushing the line.

Ernie, Justin and Zacharias all gasped at the same time. The girls all went rigid, even Christine, who knew about it. Harry knew she hadn't been happy it wasn't her, and he hated to bring it up again. "I really don't want to talk about it, it wasn't exactly a perfect moment in my life."

"You slept with two girls and you don't even think it was all that great?" Justin asked incredulously. "I've never even slept with one girl, I've had problems _dreaming_ of two at the same time," he blushed the instant he said it, and quit talking, glancing towards Susan, who was glaring back. Hannah was watching Harry quietly, not with anger, or hate, but a sort of strange inquisitive stare.

"Look," Harry said finally, "I told you, I didn't exactly have control of the situation, it wouldn't have happened if I did."

Christine snuggled up against him, calming him a little, but he could feel a flash of rage from inside, and hoped he wasn't losing control again. These were his friends and he didn't want to hurt them.

"Justin understands," Susan said, still glaring at him. "There are other rumors though, like that you're in Slytherin now."

"I stayed there for a few nights," Harry said simply. "Hermione locked me out of the Gryffindor tower and told the younger kids not to tell me the password, that I had to meet with the headmaster before I could get in."

"The Slytherins let you _stay_? I thought they practiced xenelasy."

"Xene-what?" Harry asked, looking at Zacharias, confounded, and angry with himself for not knowing, something he knew was unnatural. He never got angry with himself for something so petty, not that he could remember.

"Xenelasy," Zacharias said confidently. "It's a Spartan term, meaning that they can remove you for anything they want, and you going in their common room would certainly cause some sort of uproar. I'm surprised you lasted two minutes, let alone a few nights."

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said with a smirk, "I can do anything."

"Seems like it," Hannah said from beside him. It made Harry smirk, and feel better about not knowing the word a moment before; they still looked up to him.

"What else then?"

"Well, there are the slave rumors, that you've taken a whole harem of girls as your own personal sex slaves, which you dispelled already. The rumor that Christine is a muggle, which you confirmed. There's a rumor that she's a bodyguard though, and not a slave at all. One that you have had a girlfriend who's been frantically looking for you since you disappeared. Some people think you ran away from Hogwarts after the Breakfast Brawl. Some people think you died. There's something going around about you becoming friends with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Ron and Hermione say you hexed Hermione during the Breakfast Brawl, and then ducked under a table before they could do anything about it. Some people are saying that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again, one of those stupid rumors that pops up out of nowhere..."

Susan finished, looking up at Harry for confirmation or denial.

"Well, as you can see, I've only got one girl, and she's not even a sex slave, just a slave that I somehow ended up with," Harry said, calming Christine by running his hands along her spine. He didn't want to tell them that she was probably meant as a sex slave, and that she wanted to be one, that was just slightly disturbing, and he really didn't want them to jump at him again. He had enough people he was fighting at the moment.

"You know that would go over a lot better if you weren't petting her," Justin said.

Harry stopped for a moment, but continued on again when he felt Christine start to feel more uncomfortable. "I do this because she likes it, and she's a little nervous being here. She's mine, so I'm supposed to make sure she's safe and feels safe, I can't just tell her that she needs to go against everything she knows."

Susan moved a little bit and got closer to Justin, who decided it was best to just to accept the answer without any further comments.

"As for a bodyguard, she's a muggle, and isn't even strong enough to guard herself, that's part of the reason she is a slave. The girlfriend bit is probably someone looking for me to find out what happened. I haven't ever had a real girlfriend, not after dealing with Cho, it's too difficult. Might even be a teacher transfiguring themselves to find out where I've taken off to. I didn't go to classes today because I thought it might be better not to expose Christine to that just yet. I haven't run away, obviously I'm still around. I hate Voldemort—" collective shudders ran through the group. "No matter what anyone says I'll fight against him."

Clicking them off in his head, Harry sighed. He couldn't believe that his former best friends were saying he hexed Hermione, and on purpose. Why would he go and do something like that? He hadn't even hexed Malfoy until he'd don't some pretty atrocious things.

"I don't know anything about hexing anyone during the fight the other morning, I just ducked under a table to keep Christine safe. And I haven't been to the Chamber of Secrets since second year, and I really don't want to go back, it's not the sort of place one wants to remember."

For a second he remembered it vividly, remembered things he'd not seen there on his trip, remembered the library of books, the small cave that had been made into a room, the escape tunnel that led to the surface not large enough for the Basilisk to get through. The thought was gone a moment later, and Harry had to hold back his hatred for what had been born in the room, letting it pass through him, and continue on. He couldn't lose control.

"That's everything that I've heard," Susan said, staring at Harry intently. "Did none of the Slytherins talk about you at all?"

"No," Harry said. "They weren't allowed to."

"It wasn't Snape that was protecting you," Zacharias observed. "He's hated you since the day you were born. You should hear him prattling on about your hero-complex and how you get away with everything. He was furious that you weren't in classes this morning. Said he'd assign a week's detention to you unless you had a signed note saying you were incapacitated. No one could ever figure out why, but he hates you with a passion, more than any other student."

"He and my father were enemies in school," Harry said, his heart burning with his hatred toward Snape. "He couldn't get over his childish behavior and decided that since my father was his enemy I was also his enemy. There's nothing I ever did to him, nothing I've said, implied, anything. He simply hates me because of who my father was."

"Doesn't make much sense, does it?" Ernie asked. "He never does a good job teaching the class you're in, I've heard rumors about how some of you can't even brew a basic potion. I don't see how that's true since you're all in N.E.W.T level potions. Surprised me, seeing as in fifth year you were in remedial potions."

A thought sprung up in his head, and Harry could feel more information coming out, as if a domino had fallen, starting a reaction. It took a moment, thoughts of the Pensieve, of Sirius and Remus, then further back, further to the order that Dumbledore had given Harry work with Snape. Snape sneering and telling him he had no idea what sort of person he was. Anger consumed him, and Harry knew that it definitely wasn't his rage. It exploded outward, filling him up as blood did, reaching every part of his body. He thought about Snape being a traitor, of Snape saving Harry, of Snape fighting Quirrell first year.

The anger built higher and higher until Harry was seeing black spots in the room. "Leave now," he said in a tone so quiet and fierce that no one even dared say anything. The room filed out, glancing back at him several times. When they'd all gone, it was he only Christine left.

The slave had moved from his lap as his anger had increased, and wasn't fulfilling her duties. He glanced down at her and smiled wickedly. "You are here and your master is unsatisfied," he said quietly "You are failing in your duties."

Christine stared at him in surprise. She reached out, tentatively, to touch him and jerked back the moment they came in to contact, falling to the floor. To her it seemed as if the person in front of her was completely different, not just in spirit. His features seemed to sharpen, his eyes darken, and even his skin seemed to pale.

Everything made sense to her, why her master had not been with her, though he had, when she was marked. While she was in the castle she had heard of the great evil man that held them, heard things that brought nightmares worse than she'd ever experienced. She had been faced with him only to find him eager, almost child-like. But the man she'd been told about and the one she'd met were two different persons, though they may have occupied the same body. Her master had been there, he'd given her the mark, saved her life, sent her to a place where she would have a better life. This man in front of her was not her master; he was the vile thing that she'd been told about, the one that her master had kept at bay. He had somehow taken over her master and was angry.

"Please," she begged, scooting to one of the chairs that had been previously occupied, "don't hurt master."

Harry stared at her, and fought with himself, trying to keep himself in check. He screamed, but it came out more like a hiss. He stared at her, his eyes glowing with anger, and then, everything went away. Harry stared at Christine, cowering before him. He dropped to his knees, not of his own volition; his legs had weakened so much from the sudden lack of power that he could no longer stand.

He fell into Christine, dazed, but clear on something, that Voldemort was controlling him. It hadn't felt the same, but it was obvious it was Voldemort. He wasn't sure what to do now, if he should inform Dumbledore, or figure out how to defend himself. After all, the last time he'd told Dumbledore things hadn't worked out so well, and eventually he'd had to learn Occlumency on his own. He still had difficulties with his mastery, he lacked the ability to curb his emotions so easily, but he was good enough to have kept Voldemort out for such a long time.

As he felt Christine's arms slip around him he knew that, for the moment, everything was all right. Voldemort wasn't with him anymore.

•

He awoke in a bedroom, a soft blanket covering him, and Christine nearby. He wasn't sure exactly how he knew where she was, he could just feel her presence like a thought in his mind. His eyes fluttered for a second, but the light was too bright and he had to close them again. "Christine," he said gruffly, bringing her hurrying forward. "The lights, can you turn them down?"

It took a moment after she moved away, and he could hear people speaking in hushed tones, then the lights turned down around him. "Harry," a voice said, whom Harry reconfigured as Hannah Abbott, "should we have taken you to the Infirmary? Christine said it wasn't what you wanted, so we didn't, but you weren't looking very good for a while."

"No, Christine was right," Harry said, glad they hadn't put him somewhere where he'd no longer have the ability to keep out of Dumbledore's reach. "I'll be alright, I've just got to get something to drink."

There was a bustling sound, and within no time he had a cup in front of him. He looked at Christine, who was smiling brightly, and smiled back. "Thank you," he said. "I'll be fine. Thank you for telling them I didn't want to go to the Infirmary."

She smiled brighter, and Harry took her hand, pulling himself up with her help. The room he was in was not quiet or as plush as the common room, but it was large, open, and comforting. He was on a bed with bed sheets that were twice as thick as his, but much lighter. Lilac flower patterns ran across it in strips. He knew he wasn't in the boys room and wondered how he'd gotten to the room, and whose bed he was in.

"How long has it been?" Harry asked, remembering that they'd told him before he'd been out for almost two days, he hoped that he hadn't been there that long.

"Only an hour or two," Hannah said. Harry turned to her, and noticed that Megan and Susan were both standing behind the blonde girl.

"Whose bed am I in?" he asked.

"Mine," Hannah said.

"We had taken you to the boys dorms," Susan said from behind. "But then one of the younger boys thought you should go to the hospital and hurried off to get someone. Christine insisted you would be all right, and that you really didn't want to go, so we snuck you over here without anyone seeing you. When Jenesen returned with a teacher you were gone, and the boys said they weren't sure where you were. We were going to take you to the infirmary if you didn't start getting better, but you did start to gain some color again, just a little while ago. Dinner's soon though, and we need to make sure we're there so that no one thinks anything out of the ordinary is happening. Hannah's offered to stay behind to keep an eye on you, make sure everything's going to stay alright. We're going to go, and while we're there, make sure that some of the nastier rumors running around get straightened out."

Harry nodded, glad that they were going to do that for him. He leaned forward to sit up straight, but fell back immediately. Both Christine and Hannah reached out to grab him at the same time. "You shouldn't be moving," Hannah chided, "whatever happened drained you a lot." He smiled at both of them while Susan chided him.

"Listen to her," Susan said, "she's training to be a healer, and she's quite knowledgeable about the basics, stuff that can be found in a book."

Christine nodded and dropped to her knees beside him. "Megan can talk to me," she whispered in his ear. "She says that because I don't have magic her curse can't do anything to me."

Harry turned to look at her, glancing to Megan, who was visibly smiling brighter than she had been before Harry had collapsed. "Good," he said, knowing what it felt like to be singled out. "You have my permission to be her friend if you'd like," he continued, feeling that it was something she wanted to ask, but was having difficulty doing it. He was beginning to doubt that she'd ever had many friends. Even though she was pretty, she didn't have a strong personality, and a lot of people clung to strong personalities. "I'm going to be right here, I won't be going anywhere. You can even go to dinner if you'd like."

"I..." Christine said, faltering. She looked to Megan and back to Harry. "I need to stay with you master."

"Go with her," Harry said seriously. "Go with her, get some food." Thinking it might be better to give her a reason, he thought of one quickly. "Bring some back for me when it's time to return. That's an order."

Everyone looked a little startled at the order. He was very specific about it, wanting Christine to have somewhat of a normal life even if she was a slave. She needed to have friends in order to have any sort of normality, so Harry was going to make sure she took that step.

All of them left soon after, Susan giving Harry a withering look, while Megan leaned into Christine's ear to whisper things. Harry wondered again what the curse was, but wasn't sure if he should ask anyone. It might be considered rude.

"Harry," Hannah said, waiting until the door had shut to speak. "Why do you order her?"

Harry stared at her, frowning slightly, not really wanting to answer. It was all so much easier with Christine there, comforting him, making him feel like he was in complete control. At the moment he didn't feel like that, at the moment he felt weak, pathetic.

"It's alright Harry, you can tell me," Hannah prompted, moving closer.

Harry looked away, trying not to look into her eyes; they made him think about things he didn't want to think about at the moment. He knew Voldemort was gone, at least for the time being, and he didn't want to open up another door for him to enter again, it might be harder to get rid of him again.

"Please Harry," Hannah said, moving even closer, her hand slipped into his and her arm rested against him.

"Have you ever had an animal?" Harry asked quietly, relenting to her request. He thought it might be the easiest way to explain it, by relating it to something Hannah might understand better. "An owl, or a cat, a dog, something?"

"My parents have stables." Hannah said cautiously. "They breed and sell all sorts of horses, some magical, some not."

That would make things simple. "You've helped take care of them?" Hannah nodded. "What if one of them couldn't even graze without being told? What if he was so broken that he needed someone to tell him he needed to eat, someone he needed to sleep, someone to tell him he needed to join the other horses?"

"We never had a horse like that," Hannah said a little confused, but staying close to him still. He wasn't looking at her face anymore, because she was leaning against him and it would be uncomfortable to look into her eyes while she was that close to him.

"You my not have, but what if you did? Would you tell it to eat and sleep?"

"Of course."

"Christine's a lot like that, she won't even leave my side unless I order it. I thought it might be a good idea to give her a reason so that next time she might do it on her own, without order. I've only been taking care of her for a few days, and it's becoming a little difficult." Harry said, sighing. "I didn't really sign up to be a master of someone. I have a hard enough taking care of myself. That's what Hermione and Ron were for until recently, to make sure I wasn't screwing up, but not anymore."

Hannah nodded a little, enough that Harry felt it. "Maybe you need someone else to help you, Hannah said wrapping her other arm around his, her hand squeezing his softly. "There are a lot of people who would be willing to help you out you know, some of us will always believe in you."

Harry smiled and turned to look at her, her eyes shining brightly up at him. "I never thanked you," he said softly, staring at her eyes, he felt trapped, as if he was losing control again. Voldemort wasn't even something that occurred to Harry though, it was like the rest of the world sort of faded away, and there wasn't anything else that mattered for the moment. She leaned forward a little, her lips turning up just enough to show that she was smiling.

"You could give me a kiss... as a thank you," she said quietly.

Harry stared at her lips, wondering if she really meant it. He vaguely recalled that he'd done this before, with someone else, some other set of lips had been pressed against his, soft lips that had melted into his own. It was blissful, the kiss, it warmed him from the inside, starting at his mouth and traveling down like warm cocoa in the morning.

He pulled back immediately, remembering Brandi's words about the kiss. Hannah was frozen, a like of euphoria on her face. Harry felt the coldness afterwards, the lack of magic, as if it had been yanked right out of him. It wasn't as Brandi had described it, and Hannah didn't look like she was in pain. Was it the same thing? Or was this what kisses were suppose to feel like?

"Hannah, I don't think that..." He never finished his sentence. Hannah forcefully grabbed him and shoved her lips against his. The connection strengthened, Harry could feel the magic flowing through him, pulling on Hannah, wasting her away. She moved on top of him, swinging her whole body so that she was seated in his lap, pushing against him, trying to make more contact. Her hands slid along his arms, then to his shirt, pushing it out of the way.

It took everything Harry had to pull away again, and it didn't hurt this time, it seared, as if his whole mouth was in fire, like drinking fire-tonic, "Hannah," he gasped, finding it hard to breathe. "Maybe this isn't..."

Again he was unable to finish, Hannah yanked on his shirt hard, pulling it from him and then shoved herself up against him again, pressing her lips against his. The feeling was blissful, and strengthening. Harry was caught in it, unable, and unwilling to fight it. His hands slipped around her, tugging and pulling at her clothing. She didn't resist, instead she used one of her hands to reach down her front and unbutton something. He wasn't sure anymore, and he didn't really care, he was willing to rip it from her just to touch her skin to his. He wanted the feeling to be everywhere, not just his mouth, and she needed to be wearing a lot less clothing for that.

The outer cloak wasn't there, they were inside, it didn't matter though, and she was still wearing her proper school attire. The robes came first, fragments of them. She got the cloak unbuttoned quickly enough, it was too thick for Harry to rip, and it slipped off her with Harry's continual pulling. They broke apart for an instant to breathe, Harry staring at the blonde hair falling around him while she gasped for air. It hurt for a second, hurt to even breathe, and then her lips were there again, pressed against his.

The blouse came next, it wasn't thick at all. Somewhere between Hannah's frantic hands trying to unbutton the front, and Harry's hands pulling from behind, the blouse gave way with a ripping sound. Little pieces clung to Hannah's flesh, but most of it was gone, thrown to the side.

For a moment Harry thought that if she'd been wearing less, or ready for him, it might not have been like this, it would have been so much easier if she were like Bellatrix, ready and waiting for him. The thought took a moment to burn itself into his mind before he was able to shove it away.

Harry bucked a little, remembering what he was doing, remembering it for an instant, just before Hannah got his zipper down. The pants didn't last, when they got caught on the bed while Hannah tugged on them Harry tried to reach them, but they were gone almost the moment he touched them. They didn't get pulled down either, they simply disappeared, and with it the rest of his clothing, and Hannah's.

It only took a moment, both of them were ready, and it only lasted a minute. She screamed into his mouth as they came together, and a pulse of power struck him so hard that he had to pull away for a moment just so that he didn't drown in it. When it was over she collapsed next to him. He couldn't help but shiver as a breeze carried through the room. He covered her carefully, feeling so good that he didn't feel the need to cover himself.

An hour later, when several Hufflepuffs entered the dorm room, they were surprised to find a shiver of power and pleasure pass through them. All of them stopped suddenly, letting the feeling race through their body and warm them. Three moved forward to Hannah's bed and were surprised at their findings.

"Master," Christine said, reaching forward and shaking him, "Master."

Harry opened his eyes slowly, still basking in the power that had filled him. He had difficulty focusing on what was going around him; it all seemed so slow, so insignificant. Something moved him a little, jolting him back to normal reality, and normal time.

"Christine," he said serenely, touching the hand that was shaking him, "please calm down."

Like flipping a switch, Christine was calmer, much calmer. "Master," she said quietly. "You are naked."

Harry looked down at himself, let out a long breath, smiled, and looked back up to her. "I am," he said serenely.

"What the hell did you do Harry?" Susan whispered fiercely, moving over to Hannah, who was asleep.

Harry looked to Megan, who was watching him, then back to Susan. "She'll be alright," he said slowly. "She's just sleeping it off."

"Did you and her..." Susan said, glancing towards him. Her gaze traveled down his body and she looked away again. "Please put some clothing on," she asked quietly, trying not to look back.

"I'd be happy to," Harry said, "but unfortunately my clothing seems to have disappeared. Hannah may have banished them because they weren't coming off fast enough." He wasn't sure exactly what had happened. It had been he or Hannah that had done it, and he hadn't done any magic that he knew of.

"Hannah did what?" Susan asked, choking. She glanced up to the door, and then waved her wand, putting up a silencing charm. Luckily enough the curtains had been drawn at some point, and no one could see what was happening. However, it was going to be difficult from keeping any mention of it from spreading.

"I didn't say Hannah did it, I said she might have. Everything was frantic for a short period of time," Harry said calmly. "If you'll hand me a wand, I'll just conjure some clothing if that will help."

Megan offered hers, and Harry spent a moment conjuring a robe. Then he stepped off Hannah's bed to dress. There was a gasp and Harry turned to look at those watching. He smiled softly. "Hello," he said, slightly amused at the blushes that crept over all their faces. "I'm Harry Potter," he continued, not even troubled that he still wasn't wearing anything.

"Angel," offered one of the girls who was staring at him, though not quite as high as his eyes.

Harry smiled back. "Thank you," he said brightly.

"No," Susan said from behind. "Her name is Angel. Put on some clothing. Now."

Instead of following her order, Harry turned around to look at her. "Are you angry with me?" he asked tenderly. "I don't want you angry." He moved forward and wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright," he said peacefully, "everything is alright."

He could feel her tense under him and he pulled away. Taking a long moment to stare at the clothing, he decided it might be better just to conjure them onto him, instead of fighting to put them on. With another wave of the wand the robe disappeared and reappeared on him. He closed the bottom buttons so that Susan wouldn't complain, but left it open to the air, if felt much better to leave at least part of himself exposed.

"There, all dressed," Not that he was all dressed, a single robe could hardly be considered a full outfit, but he wasn't going to dress up fully, he felt no need to, and he was covered, which had been where Susan's unease had originated from. He offered Megan her wand again, who took it quickly.

Angel, the brunette who hadn't been able to look away, frowned. "He looked good without clothing Susan, why'd you have to go and make him put something on?"

"It's embarrassing!" Susan snapped.

"He certainly didn't seem embarrassed," Angel said, smiling. "First naked man I've ever seen and I think he ruined it for the rest of them."

"You could see more of me," Harry said peacefully. "Hannah is still sleeping," he offered as an explanation at the look he got from Susan.

"Harry Potter, if you get in another woman's bed after doing that to Hannah, I'll curse you myself," Susan growled.

Undaunted by the threats, he'd had much worse in his life, Harry turned back to her, and stepped closer again, only to have her step away. "What if it's your bed?" he asked, looking around. "I could sleep in your bed, would that be alright?"

"No!" Susan said, wide-eyed. "You can't just walk in her and sleep with me."

"I wasn't sleeping, Hannah is sleeping."

Thoughts began processing in his mind, thoughts other than sucking power from the girls. Harry looked to Christine, who was busy attending to Hannah, cleaning her up a little while no one was watching. He looked to Angel, who had an eager sparkle in her eye, and then to Susan, a scared look in hers. "I'm sorry," he said simply, before diving into Hannah's bed and pulled the sheet over himself. He fought to button up the robes underneath so that he didn't look like a fool, half exposed to the world. He couldn't believe the only thing he'd conjured was a robe; he could have at least given himself some pants to wear.

Christine smiled at him, and crawled over Hannah. "You did not mean to do this?" she asked him as his head peaked out under the covers.

Harry looked out the curtains to Susan who hadn't moved. "I didn't really want to," he whispered to her, "things sort of got out of hand and she wouldn't stop."

"It is alright," Christine said, returning to the job she'd been doing. The sheet continued to shift around, exposing Hannah, and Harry pulled it over her as best as possible, trying to keep from looking at her naked body. He was still feeling the urge to go and kiss someone, draw on them, fill himself up with power, but it was easier to fight. What bothered him most was that it wasn't Voldemort. He knew Voldemort was gone, he knew he was having a difficult time controlling himself, and that there was nothing to blame it on.

"I should leave," Harry said, slightly embarrassed. It would be easier on him if he didn't have to face Hannah when she woke up.

"You're not going to just sleep with her and leave, are you?" Susan said angrily. "Is that the type of guy you are? Do you make friends with women and then leave them to wonder what happened?"

"No," Harry said quickly, disgusted at the thought. But, he realized he'd done it already with Veranda and Genevieve, that he'd simply had them and left. Other than talking with Veranda a few times since then, he hadn't even brought it up. If he hadn't been there, a part of it, he might not have even known it had happened.

"Then stay with her and be there when she wakes up," Susan said. "I don't know why she went and did something so dim, but I knew she liked you before. You could at least have the decency to give her a chance."

"You like him too," Angel snorted from outside the curtains. "I've heard you talking to Hannah about what you'd like to do with him when you get him alone. Seeing him here, I can see why, but don't deny it now. He's already offered to sleep in your bedsince apparently you won't allow him to come over and play with me."

"Shut up Angelica," Susan warned. There was a scoff, and Susan disappeared from the drapes. Megan was still there though, her eyes watching. She seemed a little sad, but was trying to keep it from showing.

"Megan told me that you saved her once, from Malfoy."

Harry looked to Christine, startled. He barely remembered Megan, other than seeing her in class. He hadn't even remembered her name, but he never remembered saving her from Malfoy. "I..."

"She said it was a long time ago and you might not remember, but she's wanted to tell you thank you ever since."

A long time ago? Harry thought harder, reviewing the encounters he'd had with Malfoy while other people were around. He got back to first year, when everyone had been running scared, and he remembered a particular meeting in a dark hallway. He'd been alone, walking along, trying to figure out what Hagrid was talking about with Nicholas Flamel, and he'd walked around a corner to find Malfoy taunting someone. Of course naturally, he'd said something to Malfoy, diverting the attention away from whoever it was. She'd been a Hufflepuff, he remembered that, but he didn't recognize her at all, and after the fight that had ensued, he'd never really thought that much more about it.

He looked up to Megan to see eyes glimmering with hope. He wasn't sure why; it was five years before, and there were all sorts of things now that they knew to keep Malfoy in line. "She's wanted to say thank you since second year?" he asked Christine. Megan nodded quickly, smiling. "You're welcome, I suppose," Harry said, still amazed that the girl remembered something so strongly after five years. He had to be reminded about it, and even then he couldn't place all the details.

Megan was apparently happy he'd said that, because she smiled brightly.

"Did you two become friends?" Harry asked, trying to keep his attention focused from Hannah. Megan seemed to have no problem doing it, because her eyes were set on him. It made him feel like he should shrivel under her attentiveness.

There was a growl and a sharp smack sound. Everyone's attention turned to what was happening outside. Susan was standing in front of Angelica holding her face, looking extremely surprised. Harry rolled off the bed and walked forward to the girls. "Susan, are you alright?" he asked, concerned. He didn't know Susan, but he had experienced fighting without one's own house, and though it didn't happen very often, it was often more violent than when it happened in other houses.

Susan turned to him, her deep red hair swinging. She looked at him surprised, as if he was the last person she expected to be there.

"She said I wasn't allowed to go near you," Angelica said sweetly. Harry turned to look at Angelica, but could see the bully seeping through, and knew that he was probably better by not allowing her nearby. He wondered how she'd gotten into Hufflepuff, but didn't assume anything, since it was probably likely that there were people like that everywhere. Neville was never much of a Gryffindor, not until Harry had brought it out in him. He always showed a few small spots when it was really needed, but it wasn't his normal personality. Angelica could be the same way, not quite the best Hufflepuff, not unless the situation arose, and right now wasn't the best time for the situation to arise.

Susan looked at Harry, pleading for him to understand. One thing that Harry did know was that he knew Susan, she'd been one of those people that had been with him during fifth year. When so few people had listened to him, she'd been there, even been one of the few that understood him. She'd been around ever since. A member of the DA, and definitely someone that Harry trusted. If she didn't want Angelica near him, it was probably for a good reason, though he wasn't sure what it was, but he trusted her enough to believe her.

"It's alright Susan; I won't go near her if that's all you want."

Everyone looked surprised. Harry looked to Angelica, who was stunned. "I trust Susan. I'm sorry if that's going to ruin our chances at a friendship, but there has to be a reason for it, and unless she says different that's enough for me." Susan opened her mouth to say something, and a word came out, maybe two, but they were so soft no one heard them.

"Come on," Harry said, taking her hand. He looked to Angelica, who was still bewildered at his words. Christine was smiling when Harry pulled the curtain away a little, and Harry noticed that she'd finished with Hannah and had wrapped her up properly.

"Megan wanted to know if she should expand the bed," Christine said once Harry had pulled the drapes around them. "She says if you and I are going to sleep with Hannah tonight we might need a little more room."

Harry nodded to Megan, who flicked her wand, and the bed slowly bubbled outward. He saw her mouth open, but didn't hear any of the words that came out. Christine watched her intensely, and it seemed as if she could hear the words, Harry wasn't sure why she could though. For the moment though, it didn't matter.

"Susan," he said, pulling her down to sit on the bed next to him. "Thank you for not letting me go to someone else's bed. I think there's something wrong with me, because when Hannah and I... well, when we kissed, something happened, something that felt really, really good. There was magic in it, and she wouldn't stop. I didn't want to, I tried, but I couldn't even stop after a while. I think if I would have kissed Angel or you I might not have been able to stop again."

Susan stared at him, confusion written all over her face. "Why do you have to be so nice Harry?" she asked, eyes tearing up. "I want to hate you, but you're always such a nice guy."

He hugged her again, trying not to make it to intimate. "I'm sorry," he offered, but wasn't sure if that was such a proper response.

"Why Hannah?" Susan sobbed into his shoulder. "Why did you have to go and pick Hannah? Everyone likes you, and a lot of us have been trying to get your attention since last year, when you came to school so down about everything."

"You talked to me," Harry said, "last year, all the time. Why didn't you just tell me you liked me?"

"Stupid prat," Susan said. "I tried to get you to notice it, but you Hermione and Ron were always together. And when it was just the two of us we were always talking about people that had died in our life. It's not exactly the best subject to bring up after a conversation like that. And besides, you never showed anyone any interest after Cho. Even that cute 7th year transfer students that follows you around everywhere just gets the cold shoulder."

"She's a bodyguard," Harry said after thinking it over. He decided it might be best to confide in someone, since his former friends were the only ones that knew before. "She's not a seventh year and she doesn't want me to like her. She's an Auror, assigned to make sure I stay safe."

Susan pulled away and stared at Harry. Megan, who was sitting at the end of the bed, listened with interest. Susan shook her head. "She likes you, any girl can tell."

"Well, even if she likes me she's still my bodyguard, and it's her job to make sure I can't do anything against the rules or go anywhere I'm not supposed to. She's like a babysitter. Why do you think she's been looking for me so frantically?"

"Why didn't you tell us the truth earlier?" Susan asked.

"Because I wasn't supposed to tell anyone," Harry replied. "The Ministry assigned her at the beginning of the year because they had heard that Voldemort was going to try and assassinate me before the year was over. Apparently, the best way to keep me safe is to keep someone to tail me where never I go."

"And you told us," Susan said. "Megan and me. Why?

Glad that they were traveling down a different road, one not about Hannah, Harry decided it was best to answer and keep them talking like this. He shrugged. "Maybe I trust you more than I do Zacharias and Justin."

"Why?"

"Because you've never lied to me, and you've never turned your back on me."

"Why Hannah?" Susan asked. "Why did you take her to bed?"

"She kissed me," Harry said. "After that I couldn't stop."

"Would you kiss me?" Susan asked. Harry shook his head.

"When I kiss people sometimes bad things happen, I don't think it would be the best idea to do that," Susan turned away, and Harry knew she felt as if he was rejecting her.He tried to think of the best way to make her understand, but she couldn't understand, not without feeling it and feeling it was going to make it too hard not to do it. "Susan I think you're beautiful, and you're one of the most understanding girls I've ever met, I just don't want to hurt you."

"It can't hurt, look at Hannah, she's still smiling, she looks happy."

Harry shook his head, refusing to let Susan talk her way into a kiss, even though he wanted to show her, he wanted her to feel what it was like, how good it felt, how good it could feel. He fought to keep those thoughts to himself though.

Two had been too many, three was just pushing it, and if he had to deal with more than that he might go crazy. "Can I kiss you then?" she asked, stubbornly. "You gave Hannah a kiss, don't I deserve one too?"

"Why are you so adamant about it?" Harry asked, trying to determine how to get her to back off. "Why do you want a kiss so bad?"

Susan thought for a second. "Because I've wanted you to do it since third year."

The answer caught him off guard, that she'd wanted to do it that long. Ginny, who'd had a crush on him since before school, had always wanted something, maybe a kiss, maybe more, but he'd not realized other people had crushes on him. It was sort of a stupid thought after all; he was the savior of the wizarding world, why wouldn't other girls have crushes on him?

What got him even more was that she'd had the crush third year, the year he'd started developing a crush for Cho Chang. That had been so long ago, it felt like a lifetime. "You've had a crush on me since you were 13?" Harry asked, still trying to grasp the thought. Even Ginny had gotten over her crush eventually. Granted, she'd started going with girls and not guys, so that could have been some of it.

It was best to just tell her no, Harry knew it, but there was a big part inside he was holding back that wanted to kiss her, wanted to create magic and draw it out of her. She'd enjoy it, she'd find it irresistible, and that was why Harry knew he couldn't do it.

"Please?" Susan pleaded, squirming a little. "Just a kiss. If you think we won't be able to stop Megan can hold me back. If you're afraid you won't stop, tell Christine to hold you."

Harry shook his head, but the idea of it had some merit, and it took root in his head. It was as if two parts of him battled over it, the first not wanting Susan to crave him like Brandi had warned him about. The second part wanted her to experience the kiss, know what it was like, and take her beyond the borders of her imagination. He finally relented just so that the continual fight in his head would stop.

"Alright, a kiss," he said with a sigh. He glanced towards Megan, "can you hold her back once we're done?"

Even though they'd just talked about it happening, Megan seemed surprised that Harry actually asked. She nodded a little and moved around the bed, positioning herself behind Susan. She seemed a little unsure about what to do, which wasn't something that Harry wanted. "I'm going to let her kiss me," he said, outlining what he thought was going to happen. "When I pull away she'll probably want to keep going, you've got to make sure she can't do that."

Megan quirked her eye and Christine smiled. "I'll help her Master."

Harry nodded that it was alright, and waited until Christine positioned herself behind Susan as well. He looked at Susan, who was looking a little scared. "We should not go through with this," he offered as soon as he saw the frightened face.

Susan shook her head though. "I want to," she said quickly.

Harry nodded his head, let out a long breath, and thenleaned forward. His lips slid on top of hers. She had good lips, soft, but not too soft, full, but not too full. He could taste the something sweet on them, pumpkin juice, and he drew away, realizing that it wasn't happening, that the feeling wasn't there.

Susan looked a little confused and Harry saw that Christine and Megan had slipped their hands onto her shoulder, to hold her back. He shook his head. "It's alright," he said to them.

"That was a kiss?" Susan asked, looking troubled. "That's what Hannah couldn't stop? It barely lasted a second, and it felt as if I was kissing my brother."

Harry glared at her; he knew it was better than that. He closed his eyes and tried to level his thoughts, but he couldn't help it, he wanted to show her what it was like. He leaned forward this time, surprising her as his lips touched hers again. His right hand slid around her neck and he pulled her a little closer while his left slid around her waist just inside the robes. His hands touched her smooth skin, bringing goosebumps to the surface, and Harry slid has hand a little further around, moving up her back a little bit. The magic didn't happen, but he was beginning to enjoy the kiss, so soft, so sensual. He began to forget that he didn't want Susan to be addicted, to forget that they were sitting in Hannah's bed, in the Hufflepuff common room.

He started to pull away, just a little bit, when it happened. There was a sparkle, like the first time he'd used his wand. He felt Susan start to melt into him, her body molding up against his. His hands reached further up her back, pulling her closer and dipping into her. She didn't resist at all, instead she seemed to flow with it, pressing her chest tighter against his, trying to become a part of him. The feeling increased, and the warmth trickled down his throat, sizzling comfortingly as it did. Thoughts began to rise up that he shouldn't continue, but other thoughts shot them down; the pleasure of it all, the comfort he was feeling, making her feel, it was all so right.

The room turned fuzzy, as if a haze had settled over it, he closed his eyes so he didn't have to see it. Instead of looking at her he felt her, using his hands to explore her back and neck. She pressed harder against him, so hard that he wasn't sure if she was on the bottom anymore. Shivers coursed through his body as a moan of pleasure escaped her lips like an extra pulse of magic.

His mind screamed at him at that something was going on; it wasn't supposed to happen like this. The haze lifted a little as Harry opened his eyes again, staring at Susan's. He remembered that he wasn't going to let this happen, that she wasn't going to be brought into this like Hannah was. He shook his head and tried to pull away, but one of Susan's arms had found its way around his neck at some point, holding him as close as they could bring him. The other was desperately pushing away the robe he'd put on earlier. He knew he wasn't wearing anything underneath and fought it, finding that his impeding nakedness was helping him control himself

He pushed harder away, his mind screaming at him to stop. She finally pulled away herself, and Harry tumbled back onto the bed trying to catch his breath. He looked up and saw Christine trying to hold Susan back, her own face full of conflicting emotions. Megan wasn't even trying. She was staring at Harry with an open mouth, looking at him with such a hungry look that it was difficult to tell whether she wanted to shag him or eat him. At the moment neither of them seemed like good options in Harry's mind, though parts of him protested.

Harry didn't know what was going on, but he couldn't sit in the bed any longer. With Christine barely holding Susan down, Harry turned and fled the cover of the curtains. Outside he got an even bigger surprise. All of the girls who'd been grouped earlier, the ones that had seen him naked, were piled in a single bed, kissing, and removing their clothes. Some of them stopped when they saw him, but they didn't say anything, they just stared. Angel's head popped out from beneath two of the girls and she struggled through them, trying to work her way out.

When she had she fell to the floor and started at a half crawl towards him. Harry, unsure what was happening, ran as fast as he could towards the door. He glanced back just in time to see that three more of the girls had started towards him, including Megan who had started to push off her robes as she did.

Harry slammed the door behind him and bolted down the corridor, trying to find an exit. A warm wind followed, sweeping ahead of him as if clearing the way for him. He opened two doors, finding that the moment he, did all heads turned towards him and within a second the eyes began to take on a shiny look. The last door he tried led out, and he dashed into the common room heaving heavily. Everyone turned to look at him and their eyes began to glaze over, even the men, who there were more of. Harry shook his head as Ernie stepped towards him, refusing to believe what was happening.

Salvation came from the most unexpected source. It was like part of him was shoved down, something magical pushed behind a door. He knew who had done it, he could feel the familiar haze at the edge of his thoughts, knew that Voldemort had helped him stay in control. However, it worked, and he could see everyone still staring at him, but their eyes began to take on a normal look again. Some of them started crying though, not hard, but tears rolled from their eyes as if they'd seen some vision of perfection only to have it ripped from them.

The door behind him opened and several girls piled out of the room. Harry had to dart out of their way so he wasn't mobbed by them. Almost all of them stopped just outside the door and stared at him with hungry looks, only to have it die and be replaced by something slightly disappointed, or angry in some cases.

"Maybe I shouldn't stay here," Harry said aloud, but not much louder than a whisper. Susan tumbled through the door, her eyes on fire, with Christine being dragged behind.

"I tried," Christine said immediately, seeing his flushed face. "Everything changed, and I tried so hard to resist."

Harry nodded, and edged along the girls until he was next to her, and Susan, who was still looking a little strange. He slipped his arm around her. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear and kissed her forehead softly. "It was enough.'

Christine couldn't help but smile, even though she was still struggling to keep Susan back. Harry reached forward and put his arms on Susan's shoulders, holding her firmly still. "I told you what would happen," he said sorrowfully. "And this time it wasn't just you, it was everyone I think. I can't do this; someone will get hurt if I don't stop."

"Anything," Susan whispered. Harry leaned in a little closer. "Anything," she whispered again.

"Anything what?" Harry asked.

"For another kiss. I'll do anything. I'll be your slave if that's what you want," she said. A lot of the girls backed away as soon as she said it, as if they were afraid of what she was saying. Susan wasn't the most headstrong girl he knew, but she was quite a kick in the pants most of the time, which meant she was probably one of the more influential Hufflepuffs, especially being that she was in 7th year.

Harry shook his head. "I told you before that it gets worse. It gets much worse." Harry knew it . He instinctively, he knew Hannah was gone, that no matter how much he tried, she'd never be the same again. She was still Hannah; she just couldn't be without him, just as he suddenly wondered if he could be without her, or Christine. He felt a small piece of Hannah inside him now, and a piece of Susan, faint, but there. There was Brandi deep down, buried beneath Hannah, but there.

He refused to believe that he could do it to someone else. But tears were streaming down her face, whimpers coming from her mouth. Harry relaxed a little, because she was falling into him instead of pushing towards him. He knew he was safe as long as he didn't kiss her. As far as he knew at least. It was all so complicated, everything was so complicated.

"I should go," Harry said looking at some of the others who were still staring at him intently. "This isn't going to work out here, I can tell. I wanted to thank you for everything you're done, but I can't exactly stay around, it might just get worse."

"Stay," Susan pleaded. "At least with Hannah, she doesn't deserve to be punished because of what I did," she drew away to show she could fight the urge, and stared at Harry, a twitch in her eye. He couldn't bear the thought of screwing up so bad again especially with Hannah, so he nodded. He did owe Hannah that much, if not a whole lot more. He did hope that Susan would be able to resist, because he was finding it harder and harder to pull away when he kissed someone.

"Alright," Harry said, turning to enter the Hufflepuff common room. He wondered if there were any spells in place but quickly found out there was when he ran into an invisible wall.

"It's easy to get past," Susan said with a whisper, while the other students started to mill around again. A lot of them moved up to their dorm rooms or left altogether instead of watching Harry. "You just have to know the right words."

"The right words?" Harry asked and the barrier was gone. He stumbled a little, because he'd been pushing up against it when it disappeared. Susan caught him and Harry had to pull back quickly to avoid wrapping his arms around her and meeting her lips again.

Nodding, Susan turned again, pulling her stare away from Harry. "Come on, it's already night, you might as well get some sleep."

Once in Hannah's bed Harry felt a little more comfortable, except for the fact that she was naked. Christine slipped in behind him and he could feel that she was wearing less clothing than she should have been. Her arms wrapped around Harry though, and she let out a long, comforting sigh. Harry decided it was best to let her and do as she liked, it was best for the moment. What surprised him was when, two hours later, he was awakened to movement and he spotted Susan slipping into the end of the bed in the darkness. She didn't push herself into Harry, but curled up at the bottom of the bed, just close enough that his feet were touching some smooth part of her body.

•

"Harry?" someone asked, shaking him awake. It took a moment for Harry to remember everything that had happened. His eyes opened up to see Susan, looking particularly lovely, shaking him awake. She was straddling him, leaning so close to him that, if he moved, he'd be against her mouth. He knew what she was trying to do and it was inviting, very, very inviting. He could smell her nearness, feel her legs against his own. The robe he'd had on when he went to sleep was no longer closed, instead it was open, and because if was the only thing he was practically naked.

"Susan," he said, she opened her mouth and he turned his head the moment she tried to place her mouth to his. "You can't do this."

"Please let me," she begged, rubbing hard against him, trapping him underneath her and doubling his pulse. Harry tried to hold it back, refused to let her get more addicted. It would go away, it had to.

When Harry felt her ripped from him he looked up, eyes wide. Christine was holding Susan in the air like a toy, looking not so female-like. Harry couldn't help but stare as Christine turned and placed Susan on the ground. "Do not hurt my Master," she said quietly, but forcefully.

He felt Hannah stir next to him now that Susan's legs weren't pulling his apart, but she didn't awaken immediately. "Thank you Christine," Harry said as he stared at Susan. "You can let her go though. I don't want her hurt."

At his command Christine released Susan and she dropped a few inches to her feet. She was wearing very little, and Harry couldn't help but stare at her beautiful figure now that he was several feet from her. "Susan," he said, sitting up. "I cannot let it happen. I told you that Susan."

"Just one more," Susan begged. "It's destroying me inside."

Harry wondered if it was the truth. He could feel the way that her mind was working, pressing him, trying its very best to convince him it was true. It was difficult to tell if it was, if she was already so addicted that she couldn't go on without it. "I'll kill myself," she whispered just loud enough that Harry heard it.

He jumped to his feet, not even bothering to pull his robes closed, and marched forward. He threw his arms around her immediately. "I'm sorry," he whispered, holding her tightly. When he realized what he was doing, and how close they were to being naked, he withdrew, only to have Susan holding him tighter.

"Please Harry," she whimpered into his neck, kissing it softly. "I'll do anything you want; I'll listen to your every command."

It took Harry everything he had to pull away from her, but he did. He shook himself and pulled his robes closed, giving the rest of the girls in the room a peak by accident. Several of them were watching him as he stood there, in their dorms. Some of them acknowledged him with a nod, some with a gape, but none of them said anything at all. Christine, who was only wearing knickers looked at the girls and blushed, covering herself as best as possible.

A glance towards the bed sent Christine scurrying to it, hiding behind the curtain on Hannah's bed. Harry turned to look at the girls, and all of them looked down at the ground under the emerald gaze. He turned back to Susan, who was weeping. She hadn't really started crying, or wasn't trying to, but tears were leaking down her face and she was staring at Harry like something she'd never be able to touch again.

"Just let me be near you," she said with the faintest of whispers. "Don't abandon me like you were going to abandon Hannah."

Harry took her hand, slipping his fingers between hers. "I don't know what I've done to you, but the only way to apologize is to not abandon you now."

She clenched his hand tightly within hers and her tears flowed more freely. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for not leaving me."

Harry pulled her towards the bed. "You need to get dressed," he said, leading her to the side of the bed. "Christine, dress yourself as well," he added, glancing inside. She was beautiful, sitting there in her knickers, looking expectantly at him. He supposed she thought he might take her because he was turned on, but Harry was still trying to stay in control, and he refused to do it here, with other girls all around.

Hannah stirred a little more and Harry saw her eyes start to open. He opened the curtains and stepped inside, pulling them closed again as he knelt on the bed. Her eyes took him in first; there was fear and surprise, but the looks faded away and turned to a warm, blissful smile. "Harry," she said. "You're here."

"Of course," Harry said softly. "I have to apologize for last night."

"No, don't apologize. It was the best thing that ever happened in my life."

"You know that you'll never be able to have that with anyone except me, don't you? You know that I ruined it for you with anyone else," she nodded. Of all things, she smiled while she did. Harry was a little surprised. "And you know that you can't be the only one, right? Christine's already mine, and Susan is infected too by whatever it is that I did."

"Anything if you let me do it again," Hannah said happily. "Anyone. You can have all of them."

Harry couldn't believe it, couldn't believe she spoke as she did. It had to be the kiss doing it to her; it had to have affected her even more than Brandi had thought it was affecting her. Was it different somehow? Maybe because they'd been shagging each other, something had happened that wouldn't happen with just a kiss. Hannah wasn't Hannah, but she was still Hannah. As confusing as it all was, Harry knew one thing, that he shouldn't have let her kiss him.

"I can't continue to stay here," he said, looking through the curtains to see some of the girls continually glancing his way. They knew something was wrong, that he'd done something strange. How stupid would they have to be not to? The night before, half the house had a gleam in their eyes that screamed sex, and sex with him had been their preferred choice. "I'll have to go back to the Slytherin house, or stay somewhere safer than that."

"I'll come," Hannah and Susan volunteered immediately. They looked at each other and then back to Harry. "We'll both go," they confidently said together.

"Maybe," Harry said carefully, not wanting to tell them no. He refused to do that after causing this to happen to them. But, he wouldn't tell them they could go either; it might cause difficulties if they took to wandering behind him like Christine did. Not that she was at fault; she needed him in a different way. "I won't leave you alone though, not if I can help it," he added bringing relieved looks on their faces.

"Hannah," Harry said, looking directly at her. "You need to get dressed and go to classes just like it were any other day, do you understand? Susan, the same goes for you."

They nodded, Susan slower than Hannah, and complied, getting to their feet and moving to the dressing table. Harry watched Hannah move with a feminine mystique he'd not seen in her before. Susan did it on purpose, wiggling around a little to make sure that Harry got a good look as she bent over to pull on some shorts to go on under her robes. For the first time in his life, Harry didn't blush or try and look away. He watched them, fully aware of what they were doing and why. "Christine," he said, noticing she'd pulled on the top that had been under her robe the day before. "We're going to need to go and find a place while everyone's in class."

She nodded silently. "I want you to know that no matter what you're always mine," Harry said, reassuring her. He could just tell by looking in her eyes that she wasn't sure. She wanted him more than anything she'd ever had in her life and at every turn he turned her away. Harry wasn't even sure how long he could keep it up, but he had to try, he had to control whatever it was that was happening to him. If he couldn't he might as well hand himself to Voldemort without a wand.

"Master," she said, bowing her head as she stepped from the bed. They would need breakfast. Harry wondered if it was the best idea to go to the Great Hall, but he was suddenly feeling a whole lot better than he had in a long time. Hermione and Ron didn't matter, they were no longer his friends, and he no longer cared.

"Hurry and dress," Harry said confidently. "We're going to breakfast first."

Christine obeyed promptly, and with a few waves of his wand both of them were ready to go out. Christine's robes were much more modest, though they didn't look like the dress robes he'd conjured for her. He wondered exactly how he was able to pull it off, he could barely remember the spell he'd used and had a good deal less control this time around. He'd have to practice more.

As he stepped into the Great Hall everything went silent. It was like when he'd spoken Parseltongue in the Slytherin room; no one seemed to know what to say. That is to say, no one except Hannah and Susan. Both of them raised their hands immediately to call Harry forward. He smiled, nodded, and then stepped towards them, not even bothering to glance at the Gryffindors.

Megan was sitting directly across from Hannah looking a little lonely. Harry supposed that it was likely because Hannah had something else to talk about today, and not with her, rather with Susan, who was the person sitting next to her. Harry nodded and gave Christine a gentle shove in the right direction before squeezing into the spot that mysteriously opened between Hannah and Susan.

Hannah was delighted, and as Harry placed some food on his plate she bent over and kissed his cheek. "They're angry," she whispered quietly. "They're fuming just because you came."

She speared a piece of the potato he'd just placed there and placed it in her mouth before straightening up. Harry glanced at her, watching her smile wickedly, before looking down at his plate and finding one of his rolls were missing. He looked to his other side to find Susan making the roll look like it was chocolate as she ate it ever so slowly. Wide-eyed, he looked down at his plate, a lot less hungry for food, but more hungry for other things.

Christine seemed to be waiting to eat and he glanced across to her. "Christine eat," he commanded in a firm, but quiet tone. Like a robot she followed his command, cutting up some of her eggs and placing them in her mouth. His eyes moved to Megan, who was keeping quiet of course. "Christine," he said when he realized his mistake. Her arm froze and her eggs drooped, dripping from her fork. "Pretend I'm not here. If you'd like to speak to Megan do it. If you want to make other friends, that's your choice."

There was a barely perceptible nod, but there was a bright smile from Megan when he looked to her again.

Surprisingly, other than scathing glances, all of which he ignored, breakfast was altogether enjoyable. There was the difficulty of Hannah and Susan forgetting they had their own plates and eating off of his. He had to refill his plate again before he even got more than a few stabs at the food. He never finished it off, and decided it might be best to get something later when the two weren't around. It was worth it, watching Susan eat her food like it was a gift from heaven. It turned him on so much that he had to close his eyes for several minutes and imagine Snape in a bikini before he could stand up and excuse himself from the table.

While breakfast was quiet, leaving didn't turn out to be so easy. At first it was Tonks. He knew it was her because she came crashing through the door looking as if she hadn't slept in four days. He had a suspicion she probably hadn't. Her hair, usually well kept, was 3 different colors, and one eye had lost its color completely while the other was an intimidating black. "Harry!" she gaped, staring at him. "You and I are going to need to talk."

Harry tried to step around her, but found that she was still as quick as ever. "Come now," she said, spinning around with Harry in hand and dragging him out the door.

Outside, her eyes sharpened up a little and she frowned. The white eye slowly faded into a light brown color as she stared at him. "You about got me fired," she hissed slamming him into the wall. "I walk away for twenty minutes and you cause the biggest uproar at Hogwarts since Gustus Tremble shagged a girl during dinner."

That was certainly something to live up to. Harry wondered if he could pull that one off, maybe up in front of the whole student body. He smiled sweetly, wondering how much power he'd need to turn the whole great hall into a bunch of sex fiends. It might be interesting to watch the teachers go at it.

"Don't you dare smile at me Potter," Tonks growled. "If you ever do something like that again I'll wring your neck personally. I don't care how important you are.

Harry leaned into her and kissed her nose, causing her to stumble backwards in surprise. He turned back to the Great Hall and walked in. He still needed to get Christine and figure out how to ditch Tonks again. He could always kiss her and make her one of his loyal fans, but that was something he didn't seriously consider as he wasn't the sort of person that would do it.

With a look Christine was on her feet and headed in his direction. He really did plan on going somewhere else. The Room of Requirements might make a good hiding spot temporarily, but he'd have to think of somewhere else where no one would think to find him. Now that they'd seen him on such good terms with the Hufflepuffs, or at least two of them, they wouldn't allow him enough space. He was getting tired of being bound to something, and was finding that freedom meant more and more to him.

The twinkling gaze of the headmaster tried to catch Harry's attention, but it wasn't enough. Snape seemed to be glowing with rage and Harry wondered if he knew about the Leviathan meeting. Surely he must know some things; he was head of the household. McGonagall had the sourest face, staring down at Harry as if she was trying to cut him in half with just a look. Harry managed to smile when he saw that Hannah and Susan were following behind Christine and headed right for him. He also caught the flash of a hex headed his way and ducked before it struck. Ron was on his feet looking so angry Harry wondered what he'd done.

Then it occurred to him earlier in the year when he and Ron had discussed some of the more beautiful woman in the school. Hermione hadn't been on the list, but at the top of Ron's list was Hannah. Harry was sure he had a crush on her and just had to figure out a way to approach her. It made sense to think that he might be mad at Harry. She wasn't an option anymore, no longer available in the tiniest bit.

Harry didn't smile or frown; he just turned his gaze to his former best friend and stared. He swore he wouldn't let someone push him around again. It didn't matter if he was Harry Potter or Sirius Black; no one was going to have control over his life except him.

Hannah was just happy that Harry didn't say anything when she stepped in behind him. Both of them stared at Tonks, who'd taken a semi-defensive position against the opposite wall, watching Harry as he waited. She seemed disturbed and red in the face, although she looked extraordinarily cleaner than she had when she'd originally walked through the entrance to the great hall. It was obvious that she hadn't been expecting Harry to be there.

"Found a bed to sleep in I trust," Tonks said, eyeing Hannah.

Hannah was the one that nodded. It didn't take much to get her to speak; she may have a very tempting body, but she wasn't quite all there. In the DA she asked some of the strangest questions he'd ever heard, and this was after getting to know Luna. Harry shrugged. "It was her decision, not mine. I would have preferred it not be quite so well known either," Harry said frowning. "I won't be able to stay there any longer."

Susan and Hannah both pouted. "It wasn't my decision to have you make the relationship so blatantly obvious," Harry said to them. "Everyone in the school is going to be talking about it soon.

"So?" Susan said. "I don't care about everyone else in the school, and Hannah doesn't either." Susan still kept an eye on Tonks though, not seeming to like her presence.

Tonks wasn't finished and went into interrogation mode now that she knew what Harry had been up to. She asked a dozen questions, all unanswered by Harry, until he finally held his hand up. He looked to Hannah and Susan, and then to Christine, who had been joined by Megan during the questioning. "Go back to the common room," Harry said. "Megan, please watch Christine for me today. I have something that needs to be done."

Megan nodded mutely and slipped her hand into Christine's possessively. Harry smiled, knowing that Megan wasn't going to let anything happen to Christine. A friend that could develop that fast was always going to be a friend. When Susan, Hannah, Megan and Christine had all set off towards the common room, Harry set off in a different direction, making sure that anything he said wouldn't be heard by the group. It wasn't that he cared if they knew; he just rather preferred they didn't know anything about certain things at the moment.

"Where have you been?" Tonks asked after several minutes of silence. I've been all over the castle looking for you. I know you weren't in the Hufflepuff rooms earlier than yesterday because I was there and I couldn't smell you at all."

Tonks and her overdeveloped sense of smell. She could smell four times as good as most humans or wizards, she'd adapted her insides to do it.

Harry shrugged at her, not really paying all that much attention until they walked into an empty classroom. "No," Tonks said. "You're not going to get away without answers. It's going to be very, very simple. I ask a few questions, you provide answers so I have a full report about what happened to you."

"My kisses are addictive," Harry said in a semi-husky tone. Watching Tonks wave her arms about had really gotten him weak at the knees. She really needed someone to give her a good shag and calm her down. The problem was, when she and Harry even went to the Three Broomsticks, Tonks refused to drink anything that was even slightly alcoholic. She would just sit, sipping a butterbeer, watching the street to make sure that no Death Eaters had suddenly decided to make the shop a target. They never did, Harry and Tonks were good at sneaking in without anyone knowing they were there. She didn't even respond, like she hadn't heard the answer because it didn't have anything to do with the question.

"A different room," Harry said finally, deciding it would be best not to tell her he'd been sleeping in Slytherin beds the past few days.

Tonks fumed, but didn't ask again. "Why are Hannah and Susan acting like Christine?" Tonks asked next. Harry stared into her eyes, watching her anger buildup. He couldn't help but watch at walls built behind them, walls that looked impossible to break.

The answer was a little more difficult to give without exposing himself too much, and since he'd already told her the most he'd tell her, he decided to forego the answer she wanted to hear. Even the old Harry would have known it, and avoided answering. He thought for a second though, trying to decide what to say that would appease her. There was nothing really, he knew that she'd avoid his kiss if he told her that was what it was. And, being an Auror, she was very good at avoiding people attacking her on any level.

"Because they enjoy me sleeping with them," Harry said quietly. He'd only shagged Hannah but he'd slept with the both of them, so it wasn't really a lie. While it also detracted from his image it made Tonks rethink her opinion of him, which was a good thing.

"They can't like it _that_ much," Tonks almost sputtered and Harry knew he'd won the argument already; he could see the wall behind her eyes shudder. She was on the defensive, and he was attacking, so it made things so much easier on him.

"Why are you telling me what they can and can't do?" Harry asked, focusing harder on her eyes, trying to tell her to go away, that he was in control of his own life, that he was in control of this argument. "If it mattered to anyone it would be them, and I'm the one you're questioning."

"Yes you are," Tonks said angrily. "Why did you run away?"

"Why were you not there to protect me?" Harry shot back at her.

"I needed to speak with Albus about everything," Tonks defended.

"Was that your first priority?" Harry asked quietly, waiting for her to get mad. It really didn't take long; she'd been building up the anger for some time.

"You!" she screamed, her walls trembling under pressure. "You're the one I'm supposed to protect from everyone. I can't do that if I don't know what's going on. I went to Albus to find out what he might know, and see if he could find out anything else."

"Tonks, why are you so upset with me? It's not your job. You're a smart witch and I know you could get a good job outside the Aurors. There is a demand for them in the private market, and they pay a good deal more."

"You don't want me to keep you safe?" Tonks asked, going from fully enraged to miserable in a matter of seconds.

Harry sighed. "You're not going to be able to keep me safe from things I won't tell you about," he said. He didn't intend to tell anyone about the Voldemort attacks, no one was going to get hurt again, and if Voldemort called him out to some place, he'd go alone. However, that didn't seem to be what Voldemort was doing. He was instead working on Harry's mind, trying to change some things. Harry recognized it now, fighting with Tonks. Before, he wouldn't have been able to handle her quite the same way and he would have lost the argument quickly. Now, now some of those things Voldemort was trying to do to him interested him and he wanted to find out what was happening and why.

"You need to go speak to Dumbledore. Tell him that I don't want anyone to help me and I'm doing just fine on my own." Harry said, continuing to stare into her eyes. The wall he'd seen in them seemed to have finally broken down with her change in attitude. He smiled, realizing that somehow he'd used some form of Legilimency on her. He hadn't practiced much of it, just focused on Occlumency so that he could prevent Voldemort from entering into his mind.

Tonks nodded stupidly, as if it were an order she had to fight, and left the room.

Free from Tonks, Harry headed down another hall to decide where might be the best place to hide away for a while, from a lot of people, not just Tonks. The looks he'd been given at breakfast meant he was less popular than ever before.

It didn't take long for someone to find him. It wasn't someone angry with him though, she was quite happy to see him. "I'm Su Li," she said quickly when he raised his eyes to meet her. He knew who she was, a Ravenclaw 7th year. She had once been in a group of Cho Chang's friends. They'd had some differences during 4th year, and were no longer friends, even though they were now the same year. (Cho hadn't been around most of last year and had to repeat the classes to take her N.E.W.T.s). She was however, a very smart girl, one of the few that had gotten close to the same scores on the O.W.L.s as Hermione.

"I know who you are," Harry said, not really wanting to stop and talk to someone.

"I know what you are," she responded quickly. Harry fully stopped and looked at her again, carefully examining her. She was pretty, not sculpture pretty, but exotic pretty, and the grin she had painted on her face told Harry she knew something.

His eyes moved from her body to her eyes, focusing on them as he spoke. "What do you think I am?" he asked, keeping his focus on her eyes. There were no walls, but there was a jumble of thoughts, so many feelings. Excitement, anxiety, intrigue, interest, fear, all of them were there. She did know something; he could feel it inside him.

"I'm not going to tell you yet," she said promptly, turning and leaving.

Harry watched her go, strutting away, and wondered if she was teasing or trying to do something else. Probably trying to catch his interest, but she'd already done that. He watched her ass swing back and forth against her tight robes and smiled, yes, she'd already caught a lot of his interest.

He didn't pursue though. If he'd learned anything since he first came to Hogwarts it was that everything always found its way back to him. He turned and made his way down another hallway, wondering what it was that the dark Ravenclaw knew and how she'd come across the knowledge. If it was Hermione it would have had to have been the library, and so that was the direction he headed.

Madam Pince had died the previous year and a stingy old man named Tetny was working the library on a semi-permanent basis. His hawk-like eyes snapped to Harry the instant the door was open and he frowned. He didn't say anything, he never said anything. Harry was sure he and Megan would make great friends. Except the librarian was quite a bit older. He had a knack for standing around the corner so when you were chattering together you'd walk right into him. He didn't need to speak either, everyone could feel the weight of his stare should they be trying to do anything wrong. Harry had began avoiding the library altogether since the old man had arrived. He used go there with Hermione, but not lately.

"I'm looking for a book about magical kisses," Harry said immediately. "Something that may cause addiction."

The man frowned and Harry smiled. "I'm having a problem, and I think that there might be something in a book like that that could tell me what the problem is."

A deeper frown.

"Well, I thought, since you were the librarian you'd know. You do know that Dumbledore has given me exclusive permission to visit the restricted section, so I'm going to go have a look for myself since you don't seem to know how to do your job."

Win against Voldemort, that's all Dumbledore had been thinking about for ages. Harry had to go learn some top level spellwork if he wanted to have a chance at that, so he'd been given permission by Dumbledore to do some of his own magical studies and the librarian knew that.

Inside the restricted section, Harry browsed through the books for more than an hour, but found nothing that could help him. He doubted, without the help of the librarian, Sir Tetny, he'd get nothing more than a lot of books to scan through. He glanced towards the old man who returned the look with a sour one. Harry couldn't help but smile. He'd come back, maybe with a Ravenclaw that knew how to work the library system better than him. He was sure that there were others besides Su. Then again, she might come to him when he didn't show enough interest in pursuing her.

•

Harry was quite surprised when, as he left the library four hours later, she was waiting outside for him. "Didn't find anything?" she asked innocently, her eyes telling him she'd been thinking he might come here, but hadn't been sure until the moment he walked out the door.

"I asked Sir Tetny, but apparently he thinks me finding out why every girl I like wants to shag me isn't a good reason," Harry said boldly.

"Has it progressed that far?" Su asked, confusion written all over her face. "I had heard about the Hufflepuff common room, but everyone said it died before anything happened."

"Died?" Harry asked, curious to know how much she'd tell.

"The flame," she said, as if it explained everything. She turned again to leave, but Harry wasn't going to let her do that. He stared at her walking away angrily, trying to figure out what was happening to him, when he felt the familiar touch at the edge of his brain. Something ignited, something familiar but new and his body shivered. Su, several steps away, stopped. It was almost a minute of fight before she turned towards him, her eyes on fire, staring at him like there was nothing else in the world.

The power shut off. Voldemort did it, but Harry felt it happen. He knew what happened from the last time Voldemort shut it down, but this time he felt it shut down, felt how it happened. He knew he could do it again and it was worth having Voldemort in his head just to know that.

The desire died in her eyes, but Harry could see that it lingered, a hunger. "What is the flame?" Harry asked as her mind started to return to normal. Su opened her mouth to speak and a sigh came out.

"What did you do?" she was finally able to ask.

"Turned some of it on," Harry replied confidently. "If you walk away from me I can do it again and again until you can't help but tell me."

"Are you threatening me?" Su asked.

Harry smiled at her. "I don't need to threaten, I'm just warning you."

It surprised Harry when she smiled. "I know you Harry," she said. "You don't do things like that. Your powers are uncontrolled as far as I've been able to figure out; they seem to come out when you're focused emotionally. I've been looking into your affliction since a long time before it happened to you. It's a hereditary condition which exists for some wizards. Some people think it's a myth, but it's only because it is so rarely brought to life in a wizard, it takes a good deal of power to do it."

"What is it called?" Harry asked.

"Your affliction?" Su asked, smirking. "Come with me and we'll go make sure before I tell you anymore."

The proposition, while exciting, wasn't something Harry was ready to do. He needed to find a place to keep out of view, especially Tonks', for a while. Following Su would help one problem, but wouldn't help him find a place to stay. "I don't think that would be the best idea," Harry said quietly. "I need to find some place to stay for a while."

"You're welcome to come to our common room," Su said quickly. "We have some study rooms that are reserved for 7th years. I have my own that no one will enter if I say so. You may stay there."

Someone entered the hallway and Harry reached out and pulled Su into a small niche in the hall, keeping both of them from sight. "I can't go anywhere without the others."

"I'm not saying you need to stay," Su said, breathing in his ear. The niche was a very small space and she was pressed up against him even more than she should have been. "I'm just saying to go there for a night. Surely you'll be alright away from your other lovers while we try and determine exactly what's wrong with you."

"They're not my lovers," Harry whispered back. "Hannah is the only one. Susan is addicted to me, and Christine can't live without me nearby."

"They'll all survive for a night without you, won't they?"

Harry didn't have a lot to think about at that moment. The people in the hall passed by, and Harry saw that they were the Patil twins, who he rarely saw together at all. They were chatting about something, and he heard his name, which was probably not a good sign.

"Come on," Su whispered. "I'm interested in finding out about this, making sure you are what I think you are."

The urge to find out was too great, and Harry finally accepted that this would be the best thing. He would have to contact Christine and assure the others he wouldn't be gone for long. "Alright," he told her back. "But I'll need you to take a note to them so that they know I'm not abandoning them. They might have difficulties when I don't show up. I think the addiction is a lot stronger than most things. All it takes is a single kiss before it happens now. Susan, she's addicted to being near me."

"Just wait for this," Su said, peaking out and making sure the hall was clear. "It all needs to be documented so that one day, after everything's said and done I'll have proof that the bloodline isn't just a myth."

Even though he really didn't want to deal with more press, he thought he might be able to accept it if he was able to somehow control what was happening. If his life consisted of kissing a girl and she was suddenly in love with him, he was going to have a very short list of people he was going to kiss in his lifetime. He knew he couldn't just ruin it for someone, and take away everything that was remotely normal about their life. Plus, if it had happened before to others, it was possible that there was some sort of spell to reverse the effects of what was happening. He hadn't really thought about it before, but that might be the best way to get everything right again, just make them all better.

Harry knew where the Ravenclaw common room was. He'd escorted some of the DA members back to it a few times. He briefly wondered why Su hadn't become a member of the DA, even after they'd opened it to more people. She seemed like the sort of person that would do that. But then, Cho was a member of the DA, and that might cause difficulties with her, since neither Cho nor Su liked each other.

"Why did you read about this before?" Harry asked as they stumbled through the halls at Su's quick pace. "Did you know that I would have this problem?"

Su stopped at a corner and looked at him smiling. "I investigate legends," she explained quickly. "Things from all over the world, trying to find something to write a research paper on so I can be accepted into the unspeakable department at the Ministry.

"You know what they do?" Harry asked incredulously. "I thought their job was a mystery."

Su smirked, "How would you get a job if you didn't know what you were getting into?" she asked lightly, thinking it funny. "The Unspeakables have a lot of different things they do, but one of the most obvious ones is research into things. What those things are is the mystery. I've heard rumors that they have objects that are older than any known records of magic, and magical records are very, very old. Unlike muggles, we keep a very good documentation of our history, and keep it in good shape."

"So you want to be a researcher?" Harry asked, already breathing hard. The brisk walk that he and Su were on was already putting him out of breath breath even with all the exercise he got from playing Quidditch. It was insane that the girl hadn't even begun to breathe hard. "Why myths though?"

"Myths are magic themselves," Su explained. "They're the often the oldest records of things. I heard a myth once, about a magical creature that was said to be long dead, something that can live for thousands of years and suck up any knowledge of those it touches."

Harry's eyes widened, he knew what she was talking about, knew what she was implying. During the aftermath of the Department of Mysteries incident, Hermione had researched the creatures that attacked Ron, and they were exactly that, mythological creatures that were said to live for ages. They had supposed that Ron was hurt because they'd extracted information from him when they attacked him, even given him a hard time about having more knowledge than he seemed to have.

Su seemed to have heard about the incident and was trying to get him to reveal that he'd seen them. He knew it, and he wouldn't tell her yet, so instead he smiled and nodded his head in acceptance. He guessed it was possible that myths were more important than they first seemed.

The Ravenclaw common room was not exactly empty, but Su pulled him through it so fast that Harry wasn't sure if anyone could have even got a look at him. She touched her lips as if smiling, and winked before the whole town went down. There was a small table in the room, with chairs on each side, an inkwell and quill in the middle, and several rolls of parchment. "This is my study room," Su said as Harry looked it over. "You may write whatever letter you wish for me to deliver while I ensure that this room is kept private for today."

The Ravenclaw stepped out of the room with a smile that was reminiscent of a Slytherin, and Harry wondered what she was planning. He knew that he needed to get the kiss under control. He was happy to at least be able to turn off whatever it was that came up afterwards, the thing that made everyone look like they wanted to eat him, because that was as bad as the kiss itself.

Sitting at the table, he wondered exactly what to tell them. He knew if he told them that he'd be staying in the Ravenclaw room they might come, so he had to leave that out. He would have to tell them that he wouldn't be returning that night, so that they wouldn't worry about him and not get any sleep. He would leave, probably in the early morning, but he still needed to find a place for them to stay, so it might be best if he didn't tell them to meet him in the morning. Instead, he chose to tell them to meet him during lunch, the room of requirements might be the best place for it, just for a meeting place.

After scribbling down a bad excuse, he crumpled the paper and wrote it again. It occurred to him that he didn't need an excuse for them. So, he simply said he wouldn't be returning until the next afternoon and that the three needed to meet him at the Room of Requirements. He signed his name and folded the letter, placing all three girls' names on it so that they knew it was meant for all of them. He paused for a second and opened the latter again, adding a postscript to the bottom that told Christine that she may do what she liked with Megan while he was away.

He folded the note again and stared at it. Three years ago he never would have assumed he could have told anyone what to do. Then they'd started the DA, and he'd taught, he'd learned to be someone's teacher. Two years ago he wouldn't have thought he could control people with words so easily, and then he'd seen how Voldemort controlled people, bent them to his will. Last year he wouldn't have ever thought he could be writing three girls at once, reassuring them he'd return, and then Voldemort had messed with his mind and done something to him. Now he was sitting at a table in Ravenclaw, trying to determine what to do about everyone.

Su entered the room and Harry tapped the letter with his wand, sealing it shut. He didn't necessarily want Su to know where he'd be going tomorrow. Although she was a Ravenclaw, he didn't really trust her all that much. He'd had a few bad experiences with Ravenclaws. He handed her the note. "This goes to one of the three on the front," he said, before looking back down to the table. Su placed a book there with a long ribbon hanging from it. "Take a look at it," she said before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Harry opened the book and flipped to the marked page, he was surprised that it was written in print for how old it was. Halfway to the page he saw a picture and stopped flipping. "Dragon," the title of the picture said, showing a long thin, windy snake like creature that looked more like the Basilisk he'd killed rather than a dragon. He turned the page back and read from the book. It didn't take long for him to realize that the person who was writing it knew very little about dragons. He flipped a few more pages coming across several creatures he'd never heard of before finding a picture of a docile looking fairy. He read the article about it.

It was a muggle book, he finally realized, finishing the nonsense they'd written about fairies. Su Li had given him a book, an old book, about myths in the muggle world. Why had she done that?

A little irritated, Harry flipped to the page that was marked and noticed it was highlighted with some magical spell. _Incubi_, it began, the 'I' in incubi written in huge script and decorated with what looked like horned people. _When the night falls an Incubus spreads his desire unto woman. He shall make his way into their house that he desire their companie. It is said that from them their seede spring witches and divels of the most unholie nature. Its companion, which is called the succubus, oft takes the form of a prettie wench, which seducith men unto itself, taking their seed to deliver forth the incubus unto the world._

_Proofe is affirmed by Charles Darner, having manie times seene witches and whores prostituting themselves in the woods, uncovered and naked to the navill, moving about according to the disposition of the act of concupiscence with non seene the attendance of a man. It is after conderable time that this man, continuing to observe has seen the black vapor of a divell, having the bignesse of man unknown bringing forth his seede unto the witch. At length he departed from feerful of being seen by the divell._

_Many have heard in legend of the Incubus that came to lay upon the ladies bed side, springing forth his desire and forcing upon her his member, causing anguish and pain. Wherewith she, being offended, cried out for companie saying that the holie bishop had fell upon her in the night. The holie man was thus brought before a trial and the ladie didst defame him, claiming it was he. The holie man, knowing not what thing the ladie spoke of, confessed nothing. The holie man was purged of infamie at great length, having determined it was but a divell of great lust which had inhabited her. She slept few nights wereafter, awaiting its return that she may again lay with it._

Harry stopped reading. It was difficult to read things that had been written hundreds of years before. He got something out of it, that the muggles believed that divels - probably the current muggle 'devils' and witches were born from Incubi. Incubi were supposed to be from Succubus, the partners of Incubi, and males who were lured to them.

There were also two testimonies, one of a man seeing a woman having sex with an invisible man it seemed, and the second of a woman being raped by a bishop, while the bishop didn't seem to have knowledge of it. The woman seemed to have wanted the rapes to continue though it seemed, because the writing had said she waited for him to return after. That caught his attention, that a woman had been brutally raped, so much so that she'd called for help, only to wait in bed for it to happen again. Was it like the kiss? Was there something that linked him to the Incubi?

He scanned down the page until he got to another account by a woman with an incubus in her bed.

_In the district of Corath, in a village not but twelve miles from Bradstock, a young woman of exceeding beautie, confessed to a holie man that she had been dispirited by a beautiful divell who came to her bed at night, as quiet as the wind, moving through locked doors and past the bed of her mother. Thus the divell did call forth passions she knew not until his touch, drawing on her embrace and calling her his own, causing unimagined pain and pleasure from her and laying with her til the morn drew near._

_This maiden thus begged the holie man to free her from the great foul madness which had befallen her. She claimed the Incubus called upon her, but would not take her werewith he went, and it had been many days since he had returned. Having been called of the Lord Christ, the holie man did bestow upon her blessings, sending away the fierce heat which had inhabeted the maiden. Yet, two days hence, the maiden did disappear from the world, the incubus having stole her from this world for her lusts had not failed even as the holie man had cast them from her._

Harry sighed. The second account had been just as difficult to read, but at least it had more information. The woman had been shagged, several times, and was probably a virgin before it. She hated and loved what the incubus had done to her. The incubus left her for a while and after enough time, the woman had gone a little nutty, and tried to get a holy man to take away the feelings she'd been having. Apparently it didn't work, because two days later she'd disappeared, most likely taken with the Incubus instead of staying around.

"Find anything interesting?" Su asked from the doorway and Harry looked up at her, surprised. "I delivered the note to Hannah," she said. "She read it with me there, she seemed sad, but understood it."

Su moved away from the door, pulling it shut first, and locking it with a spell. "So, did you find anything interesting?" she asked again, moving to sit down near him. Harry stared at her, wondering why she'd changed into different robes.

"The book is a muggle one," she pointed out, "but there are others, just none I could get as quickly as I'd like to. They're coming through owl post from my mother."

"Where did hear about it?" Harry asked, still watching cautiously. He was getting the feeling that Su wanted more than just to document what was going on with him, maybe to discover them herself.

"I've heard stories about Incubi since I was little," Su said. "Mother wanted me to know all sorts of myths and tales, and she's told me all of them she'd ever heard. I investigated some of them of course, they interest me a good deal, and I was at one point investigating the connection between a Succubus, that's the female counterpart of an Incubus, and Veela's. I never got very far, because Veela's don't like people looking into their believes or history, there are some gory things that happened, but I did find that they may very well be the Succubus' of old muggle texts. I did not however, find any counterpart to the Incubus, not at first."

Pausing, Su extracted a roll of parchment from her robes and laid it out on the table, unrolling it slowly. "There is an interesting tale I found about a young wizard in the mid 15th century that of sorts, and ended up marrying half a dozen woman within days. Until that time he'd been a normal man, but after that date he had woman writhing at his feet wherever he went. He was caught and drowned by the church. Unfortunately he did die, as he had no wand to perform any sort of charm to keep him alive. There are other documented cases of it happening through time, but yours is most similar to his. It's like he simply wakes one day and has woman falling at his feet."

Harry was beginning to see where she was leading, that he was an incubus of some sort, at least as muggles imagined it. But, if there were some cases of it... "Why were the others so much different than mine?" Harry asked, no longer trying to wait patiently.

"There's very few records," Su pointed out. "Veela's know more about the male version of their race than anyone else, but since it's not an everyday occurrence, no one's bothered to ask them, and they tend to keep their own cultural differences to themselves."

"Why am I here then," Harry asked, irritated again. "I've read for several hours and have only gained a few points, all of which you probably already had figured out yourself and could have told me ahead of time."

"You're uncontrolled," Su pointed out, "that's why we're here. I'm going to help you gain that control. I've been reading about the people who were able to control themselves and the way that wizards control themselves around Veela's, and I think I've figured enough of it out.

Harry nodded, listening intently, he was going to have to accept that he wasn't going to be getting this the easy way. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Kiss me," Su said promptly, watching Harry. His face soured immediately and he shook his head.

"I don't think you understand," Harry said, "it only takes once."

"Oh, I think I know what is going to happen," Su said, "or at least what you think is going to happen. As I've said, I think I've discovered a way for me to block out the effects. If this is going to work at all I'll need to know if it works."

Harry didn't respond immediately, he was thinking over his options. If it didn't work he'd have another addict most likely. He hadn't kissed Susan much and she was already addicted it seemed. He wasn't about to risk it with someone else. Then again, she said it would block everything out, was that possible, was she somehow able to circumvent whatever it was that he was doing? Could he try and find out?

"No," he responded again, refusing to even dare to do it.

"Explain the kiss to me, in the greatest detail possible," Su said quickly, avoiding addressing his response for the moment.

Harry explained it, explained how he'd kissed Hannah, how the power and flowed into him. He stopped soon after, but Su wouldn't give up and he soon found himself telling her everything that had happened piece by piece. "And what about Susan?" Su asked the moment he finished with him feeling drugged. Harry took another breath and went into the story with Susan, what the kiss had been like, what the room had acted like, how he'd been chased and then almost mauled by sex fiends in the common room. He left out Voldemort, saying his power had just turned off.

"Alright," Su said, finishing writing the last line. "I can understand how you would want to avoid kissing another girl. How about we try something brief, like just touching lips for a moment, or see if we can call up 'the power' some other way... you already did it to me even though you said you didn't know how to turn it on or off the first time, that it just happened, but you turned it on when you were angry at me. We should try and see, while I'm blocking, if you can turn it on again."

The idea was better than her kissing him, even though it would probably lead to the same thing. "I don't know," he responded tentatively, "what if I can't pull you off? Or what if I give out too much power, and everyone around jumps me thinking I'm the main course in a shag-fest?"

Su Li laughed gently and stood, walking to the door of the room, she tapped it and turned around. "That'll keep people out," she said thoughtfully, "at least for several hours, so you're not going to be dragged down by some Ravenclaw, mad with lust. As for how to drag me off you, I'm quite light, and I'll put my wand to the side, so if you have to you can banish me, it'll send me flying and you should be able to keep me from returning. I've also brought a sleep drought if I get too close, you can just force it down my throat, and, by the time I awaken, the urge will be gone."

Harry stared at Su, wondering where she'd gotten that idea. Susan certainly hadn't gotten over it, and they'd just kissed. Brandi was the only other person. Harry's eyebrow quirked and he glanced to the vial. "You do know it's not that easy, don't you?" he asked her. "The third person, well, the first person really, I infected, was away from me for several days, and when I got close she was deathly afraid of me. She knows she'll get addicted and was afraid I might want to kiss her again."

The way Su reacted confirmed Harry's fears. "You've talked to her," he stated, wondering if he should feel a little more afraid. If Su was talking to Brandi, then that meant she'd done more research on him specifically than she'd first said. It meant that if she wanted to trap him, she could probably do it.

"Brandi was very interested in some of the research I'd done about something else. It was simply an exchange of knowledge. Though, she's very interested in you now, finding out what's happening and what will happen. I don't think that our bartering relationship is at an end."

"So how much do you know?" Harry asked. "About me?"

"A good bit," Su said, "after all, I'm very good at research. Now, quit delaying, either do it or don't. I'd like to get things done before I'm too tired to get everything thought out properly, and I don't want to lose my concentration while we're testing you."

Staring at her, open mouthed, Harry couldn't pick the words he wanted to say. He finally just closed it and nodded, thinking it might be better to know and eventually be able to control it. The problem was, at least according to Su's research, there weren't any other Incubus around to talk to. He could go to the Veela, but he was sure it'd take entirely too long to convince them to trust him.

"So, you really think this'll help?" Harry finally managed to ask.

Su nodded, tying back her hair as she did. "I think that it'll take a strong will to be able to keep in control, and it'll help you see what you can and can't do around people. I'll tell you how strong it is, how difficult it is to fight, and you should be able to gauge that based on how you feel while doing it."

"Alright," Harry nodded slowly, hoping he wasn't making the wrong decision. "Slow at first though, I don't want you to get something you can't fight off without some sort of warning."

Su nodded, then sat down on the chair next to Harry, staring at him. She stopped looking for a second, reached over and made a scribble on her paper, then turned back to look at Harry. She tilted forward getting close to him, but not touching. She moved slowly, staying within a quarter of an inch, but somehow avoided touching him. Her hand moved along his arm, causing the hair to prickle from the breeze she cause. Still, she didn't touch him, just made his breath start coming faster. It was hard to determine what was happening, but he suddenly felt hot, like his skin was on fire. The moment it happened she pulled back and stared at him.

"That caused an immediate reaction?" she said, forming the statement into a question. Harry couldn't help but nod as his limbs began to calm and his heart slowed. He tried to form words, to ask what had happened, but they didn't come, the feeling was still there, burning brightly.

Altogether, Su seemed indifferent to the reaction. She simply nodded as he did, and then scribbled down some more notes into the pad she had in lying on the table. It was almost a full minute before she was finished and looked up to Harry. "Would you like to try that again?" she asked. Harry just nodded dumbly.

"Alright, without the cloak this time," Su said. "I need to see what a reaction is like in direct contact with skin," she pointed out as Harry began to shake his head. She didn't really understand, didn't know he was naked under his robes. He finally sighed and sloughed it off his chest, but tried desperately to keep them on around his waist. He was successful for the moment, keeping himself in a fairly dignified position while allowing Su to do whatever it was she planned. At least he wasn't naked.

There was a momentary pause while Su stared at him, her mouth open a little. Harry found himself able to focus more because of the look she was giving him. He remembered that he wasn't supposed to allow this to go astray. "Su?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "Do you want me to put it back on? I don't think this is going to go well, you're already looking a little off balance."

She shook her head. "I just never had someone simply pull off their robes for me," she admitted. "Cho and Terra always had the boys goggle at them, ready to do whatever they wanted, but no one ever looked at me like that. So, I always worried about studying more than they did, even though they are Ravenclaws."

The name Terra didn't ring any bells, but Harry was sure it was likely one of the other girls that was within Cho's group of friends. It didn't surprise him much that they inspired mild jealousy, she did seem to get whatever she'd wanted, everything but Harry. She still looked at him sometimes, when she didn't think he was looking, and he could see that she wanted him, for one reason or another. However, after 5th year he refused to go back with her. She hadn't had an easy life either, being removed from school during most of her 7th year. While Harry pitied her situation he had nothing to say to her.

"I won't disrobe completely for you," Harry said, trying not to make it sound wrong. "Not that there'd be anything wrong with doing it with you," he added quickly. "I just think it'll cause a lot more problems, and I don't want another person chasing me around like a lost puppy dog."

Su accepted the answer as it was supposed to have been said. She looked a little miffed though, and Harry tried to ignore it. "Are we going to do this, or do you want me to put me robes back on properly?" he asked.

Finally smiling again, Su scribbled some more notes on the paper. When she was done she stopped forward again, a little more tentative this time, as if she knew something more were going to happen. She didn't have to go far, the moment her hand came close to Harry the fire in his skin started to burn again. It didn't take long for it to start to spread and within a minute of her closeness there was a white hot fire in the pit of his stomach. It was hard to control, harder than anything Harry had ever done. He felt hungry, as if he hadn't eaten or drunk in weeks, and Su was looking like an appetizing course at the moment.

Choking to fight back his own urge, he stepped back. Su reacted quickly, moving back as fast as she could, stumbling over things. She ended up falling into a couch that was now across the room. It hadn't eben there before, and Harry wondered where it had come from, but didn't wonder about it long, his eyes were glued to the ruffled looking Su Li as she tried to right herself.

"Are you alright?" she asked, fighting her robes to lay straight again. Her hair looked as if she'd just got into a fight, but it wasn't severe, it did look distinctly funny though, and he chuckled, but never let his eyes travel away from Su.

Harry tried to compose himself again, tried to will the burning sensation away. It faltered for a moment, but didn't recede, it didn't however quit spreading. "No," he whispered. Then, realizing what he'd said he shook his head. "I mean yes, I'm fine."

Nodding, Su leaned forward and made some more notes on her parchment. It took longer this time, and she kept glancing up at Harry, but didn't ask any questions until she'd written a good bit. "How do you feel now?"

"Hungry," Harry said, hoping she wouldn't ask what he was hungry for. He didn't want to tell her, but he didn't want to lie either.

She nodded, and scribbled something. "And did you feel something when I did that? You acted quite startled, so I suppose you did, could you describe the feeling for me though?"

Harry described the feeling in detail, not telling her it was specifically in his stomach, but making a vague reference to it with his hands.

Su spent a few minutes copying his answer down, then wrote a few more notes out. "Alright," she said, still unchanged by the feeling that was beginning to drift around. Harry wondered if she really had discovered a way to block out the effects. While he hadn't kissed her, he knew he was giving off some faint sighs of lust, that should make her jump all over him, or at least get the glazed look in her eye hat told him she waned something from him.

"Do you want to wait a few minutes?" she asked, being careful not to stare directly into his eye. "So that the fire feeling goes away. I could go get you something else to much on," she added quickly.

"No," Harry said, still watching her, "it's alright, I don't think it'd help much anyway. The feeling only gets stronger the longer I wait, I don't think it's going to go away if you're even in the room, so it might be best if you leave for a little while."

It was as if he were disappointed with himself just for saying it, he could feel a sort of dread that she'd listen to him and go away for a little while. It didn't last too long, because she shook her head. "I need to watch everything that happens. Like I said, I'll be able to keep the feelings at bay, so as long as you can control yourself and not try and deflower me, I think everything will be alright."

Not sure if he could actually keep himself from trying to take her, as he'd taken Hannah, Harry began to say something. Su didn't notice though, and she'd already moved forward, her body within inches of him. Her lips moved upward, coming so close, so very close, that it seemed wrong not to kiss them. He fought it, fought the urge to join with her. "It feels so right..." he whispered before the heat engulfed him.

Smart enough to have an inkling of what was happening, Su stepped away, not stumbling, but moving as quickly as possible. She made it halfway to the door, now running full pace, before her mind was overrun with pleasure. She quivered, and slowed, not really paying attention to what was in front of her. Her mind could see nothing until she turned to Harry. He seemed to have changed, not for the worse either. It was as if he glowed with splendor, just standing there, waiting for her to come to him. A deity, the deity, and there was nothing else that mattered other than him.

He was smiling, smiling so very brightly, and she couldn't help but return the smile as she walked back to him. She almost groveled at his feet, begging for forgiveness for trying to run. She knew he wouldn't want that though, knew he wanted to wrap himself around her and take her into a place of bliss, a place where everything was right.

•

Cho walked into the Ravenclaw study room the next morning to find the most appalling site she'd had ever witnessed. She gasped, turned and fled, leaving the door wide open for others to glance in and gawk.


End file.
